


The Royal Scramble

by D_Maradine



Series: The Royal Scramble [1]
Category: Persona 5, Persona 5 Royal, Persona 5 Scramble - Fandom, Persona 5 Strikers, Persona Series
Genre: Akechi Goro Lives, Akechi is an asshole, F/F, Flirting, M/M, Non Canon compliant - Persona 5 Scramble, Ren's POV, Slow Burn, Sophia and Ryuji are besties, but Ren likes him just like that, canon-typical violence and triggers, deep talks, mentions of depression and social anxiety, small gestures
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:42:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 78,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25233337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/D_Maradine/pseuds/D_Maradine
Summary: The start of summer holidays welcomes Ren Amamiya back in Tokyo. Life went on and it seems that people already forgot about both the Phantom Thieves and a certain high school detective, but not him. Everyone’s attention turns towards a new AI phone application, EMA, that can answer all questions.Meanwhile, as their leader returns to the city, the former Phantom Thieves make plans to enjoy their vacations together. It quickly turns out that fate has other plans though, as Ren wakes up in the Velvet Room again and accidentally accesses the Metaverse the next day. Moreover, there is also an issue with the unknown sender of the mysterious message that appeared on his phone…The Phantom Thieves are back in action, after the events of Persona 5 Royal!
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren, Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist, Niijima Makoto/Okumura Haru (background)
Series: The Royal Scramble [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1941796
Comments: 185
Kudos: 276





	1. Home, sweet home

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, everyone who decided to give this fic a go!  
> It's been a while since I wrote anything, so I may have gotten a bit rusty, but the spirit is right where it should be! This work is a loose retelling of Persona 5 Scramble (with necessary divergences and many additional scenes), so it contains spoilers from it, as well as spoilers from Persona 5 Royal. If you are uncomfortable with it, please return after getting familiar with the games first!  
> The main idea behind the work is, what if Scramble happened after Royal and if our favorite detective really lived. 
> 
> I have a few chapters ready at this point, so you can expect regular updates for a while. I can't promise it will stay like this, but I will certainly try my best.
> 
> The first chapter is a bit longer and you can treat it as introduction to the story, it's mainly the groundwork for what's to come.
> 
> Last but not least, I want to dedicate this first chapter to my beta, Luvisco, who keeps giving me inspiration and energy to write!

_Ren boarded the train, slouching a little, not only under the weight of the luggage he was carrying – Morgana sitting in the bag hanging on his arm wasn’t exactly the lightest animal on Earth – but also because of the weight of everything that happened in the last few months. Maruki dropping him off to the station was somehow relieving. It was good to see the counselor seeking a new path of his own, trying to start anew and accept everything that happened. Ren wondered if he would try and reach out to his love again. He wished he would. If it was him…_

_He sighed and tried to smile. It was still hard but apparently forcing yourself to smile could make you feel better or something. He focused on reliving in his head once again the plans everyone shared with him before. It seemed that the events of the last year helped everyone find their own paths and get ready to move forward with a new drive. He was genuinely happy for them and thus, the plastic smile on his face became a tad more natural._

_Ren found his assigned seat by the window and looked out of it to the platform. It hurt, to leave everything he had here. His new families, new bounds. It could have been moving a few hours train ride away but it was no different than migrating to Mars. Even if everyone wanted to stay in touch and probably will for a while, long distance relationships are always hard to maintain. More so with everyone getting busy with their newfound purposes. He won’t be able to witness their growth anymore. But he didn’t really have a choice, did he? The perfect reality in which he stayed in Tokyo for another school year was only a dream he willingly shattered. But it was okay this way, he couldn’t go against HIS wishes. It would be the kind of betrayal he would never forgive himself for. Even if it would mean that he…_

_As he unconsciously slid his hand to the pocket and felt the cool and smooth sensation of the leather sign of the promise he intended to fulfill something on the platform suddenly caught his eye. The train set off smoothly, wanting to distract him and make him leave everything behind, but he stood up frantically and pressed his face to the window, glasses on his nose colliding with it with a small thud. First he noticed the gloved hands, then the familiar uniform jacket, then…_

“SUSHI!!” screeched a familiar voice right into his ear and there was a bump to the side of his head as Morgana headbutted him mercilessly.

Ren jolted awake and sat up abruptly, almost falling off the bed.

“Morgana?” He scanned his surroundings but found no cat-shaped figures in sight. He furrowed his brows, thinking if he dreamt that as well, but then there was some angry puffing and rustling to his side, under the blanket that flew off him following the earlier movement. Ren reached out and untangled the cat trapped beneath the soft fabric. “One cat-shaped entity – secured,” he stated and gave Morgana a little smile.

“How long can you sleep, honestly, what if someone steals my sushi while you happily droll yourself out on the pillow?” Morgana hopped on his lap and kneaded at his thighs with enough force to make him wince. Suddenly, the cat stopped and looked him in the face, blue eyes narrowing a little. “You look pale.” He hopped off and sat down, looking at him expectantly, expression a mix of worry and something unspeakable, tail waving a bit.

“That dream again,” Ren said simply, knowing there is no need to explain further, as Morgana hummed understandingly and got off the bed, paws carrying him in the direction of the door.

“Come on, eat something. There isn’t much time left before we have to head off. And you’d better busy yourself with something before you start diving into those thoughts again.” Cat’s voice wasn’t harsh. It betrayed some of the worry Ren caught reflecting in his eyes, but it was also commandeering enough to get Ren on his feet. Not that Morgana was wrong, though. They went through this many times before, after all.

They got to the small kitchen, where Ren set the water boiling and opened the fridge to take out the yesterday’s leftover sushi for Morgana, while deciding what to eat himself. In the end, he settled on preparing a plain omelet to eat with rice, already missing Sojiro’s curry. And the coffee. He didn’t have coffee in those last few months, giving up on ever drinking anything that wasn’t freshly prepared again, after one time he made himself a mug of instant one. Saying it tasted like cardboard would be a huge overstatement.

He was frying the eggs when another person joined them in the kitchen.

“Something smells nice,” his mother said, setting her empty glass in the sink, attempting to start the non-awkward conversation and somehow still failing. Not like it was anyone’s fault, though. Just the air didn’t clear yet in the house since Ren came back in March. They still haven’t discussed the case properly, the unspoken words hanging heavily in the air between them.

“Just making an omelet to eat with rice,” Ren explained after a silence that was a tad too long to feel comfortable. It wasn’t like he was doing it on purpose either. He supposed there was still enough hurt and feeling of betrayal in him, not allowing him to act like the whole last year didn’t happen. Not even mentioning his own, new problems on top of that.

“You’ve gotten really good at cooking during your stay at Sojiro-san’s place, didn’t you?” She tried to continue the conversation anyway, instead of just going off to take care of her own matters. Maybe it reminded her of the last time he was leaving like this, he thought.

“Yeah, Sojiro is great. He taught me a lot of stuff.” He slid omelet from the pan onto the plate and opened the rice cooker.

“Isn’t it unhygienic to bring a cat to the restaurant though? Do you want to leave it here?”

He shut the rice cooker’s lid putting a bit more force to it than intended. The loud thud was followed by nothing but empty silence, for what lasted maybe a minute, but felt like at least ten.

“Morgana is coming with me. Boss loves him like a family member,” Ren answered eventually, trying to sound neutral, not exactly in the mood to start anything. He noticed mother shifting uncomfortably at the word _family_. Maybe he put too much emphasis into it again. He sighed and already sat down at the table when he remembered the water finished boiling. “Look, it’s fine. Sorry, can you pour me some water into that mug over there… mom?” The word tasted foreign and forced in his mouth.

She nodded, relaxing a bit at the request, probably happy they are interacting like normal humans. Or trying to. She placed the mug on the table next to him and bent down to scratch Morgana behind the ear. The following silence wasn’t the worst this time, though still somehow tense. Ren felt like mother was mentally preparing herself to say something, so he decided to just get to eating before his food got cold, and give her time. He was nearly finished when she finally decided to speak again.

“Ren… are you sure you want to go back to Tokyo?”

That was _not_ what he expected.

“What?” He eyed her, feeling the disbelief in his voice may also be showing up on his face.

“You know, you…” she trailed off, getting visibly uneasy, but quickly composed herself, “I know you are upset with what happened, and with me and dad, but since you came back, you sometimes seem so depress-“

He stood up, cutting her off in the middle of the sentence. The chair almost scrubbed off the enamel off the floor tiles, action accompanied by a loud ear-hurting sound. He caught her gaze and held it for a second, looking her straight in the eyes. Something in her grey irises conveyed the inner conflict going on inside her head, the mix of worry and hesitation similar to the looks Morgana was giving him sometimes. He knew she didn’t mean anything bad. But it didn’t really matter.

“Thanks for the tea,” he said, breaking the eye contact and grabbing the mug, setting off to his room.

“Ren, wait,” she pleaded, catching the hem of his shirt and forcing him to halt. He didn’t look back at her. He could hear Morgana following after him, ”This time I… I will call you, okay? Please pick up some time,” Ren’s mother said eventually, with something akin to resignation in her voice, like she just tried taking a test and failed. She let him go and he continued on to his room, suddenly remembering his plate abandoned on the table, but too uncomfortable to turn back and clean it up at this point.

“I need to finish packing up and get ready,” he said before closing the door behind him. He wouldn’t give off any promises easily anymore.

* * *

Both Ren and Morgana stayed mostly quiet after that, each consumed by his own thoughts. Around halfway ride to Tokyo, Morgana’s head popped up from the bag, the cat demanding to let him look out of the window too.

“There are so many rice fields out there, huh?” he mused, nose glued to the glass. “It’s like an entirely different world, existing peacefully between the cities.”

Ren hummed in response, shifting slightly to find a better position for his elbow. The thought passed his mind that the cheek will probably bear a sign of being rested on his fist for a few hours straight, but couldn’t force himself to be bothered by it. Worst case scenario, he will lie that he got sunburnt and that’s why the pinkish bloom appeared on his face.

“Morgana,” he asked, kind of suddenly if he was the one to judge, but Morgana only sighed, as if he expected him to start talking anytime now. Blue eyes glanced at him questioningly, head tilted slightly to enhance the effect, “Do you remember… I mean, of course you remember, but… after the battle with Yaldabaoth, after the Metaverse disappeared. You still managed to come back, didn’t you?”

Morgana sighed again. “Ren, I’m sorry to point it out bluntly like this, but I think you should stop obsessing over this already.”

Ren’s gaze fell on his lap, head bowing down. He didn’t want the cat to see him gritting his teeth.

“I told you, Morgana. I really saw him there, I…”

“Ren. Lady Lavenza said that-”

“It’s not that, Morgana. She said everything will go back to how it should be, YES, but-“

“Ren.” Morgana’s voice was more firm this time. Ren blinked and raised his head a bit in surprise, only to meet those worried blue eyes drilling their way into his soul again. He was getting sick of seeing this emotion mirrored everywhere around him. “You were shouting,” the cat explains shortly.

“Oh… well, I didn’t mean to, but…” Ren trailed off, a bit flustered. He didn’t remember himself overreacting like this before, more so in public. He rubbed the back of his neck unconsciously, “Look at it this way,” he continued, voice only a tad louder than a whisper, “You know how I ended up in the juvie when everything restarted. So it’s not weird to assume he could have ended up somewhere else too. It doesn’t make sense, Morgana. Sensei… Maruki, he… it didn’t have to be his doing. There are many things that don’t match, if you think about it.”

“Like what?” Morgana’s ears perked up attentively, his gaze a bit more skeptical. Ren felt the glimmer of hope inside him, accepting the challenge. He was thinking about it for so long already. He refused for it to be in vain. He didn’t want to think of it as a desperate need to validate some sort of mirage into being real in his mind, which seemed to be how Morgana saw him going about it. But he knew what he saw. He knew it was real.

“Okay, listen. Maruki knew about all of our circumstances, right? We talked about our worries to him, giving him a pretty clear image of our wants and needs. He even knew Futaba’s story from that one time he dropped by the café. But my rel… my… he didn’t know about our connection to Akechi, he couldn’t have.”

“What about me, though? It’s not like I talked to him about my wishes, Ren…” Morgana’s doubtful gaze made him straighten up in the seat while he rose the hand up to his chin, unconsciously mimicking Akechi’s habitual thinking pose. The cat winced slightly but didn’t comment, waiting for his answer.

“He knew about the Metaverse. He knew about Mementos. He must have been to the Metaverse and then he must have heard you talking about not being a cat.”

“How many times do I have to…” Very feline growl escaped his throat when he bit Ren’s arm.

“Anyway…” He tried to shake Morgana off his arm. “Don’t you think it would be the valid reason?”

“No, I don’t think so, Ren. I’m sorry.” He sighed again and hanged his head down a bit. Ren reached out to pet it, furrowing his brows. It felt like there was something more, the last piece of the puzzle he didn’t yet solve.

“Oh,” he said after few minutes of intense petting and thinking, startling both himself and Morgana alike. The cat gave him another questioning look. “Do you remember how… when you came to terms with the reality. You turned back into this form. And when Futaba did… Her mother, Wakaba, she sort of disappeared again, Haru’s father alike. It all started going back to normal for us once we realized it’s only some kind of dream-like world. But with him, it was different. He didn’t. So even if he was my… even if he was my wish” he barely whispered the last part. Morgana hummed thoughtfully.

“Ren, listen. I don’t want to put you down but… what if you just get disappointed in the end? What if it’s only wishful thinking, and you are just forcefully convincing yourself of something to avoid letting the truth sink in and… you know, dealing with the trauma?” The cat shifted uncomfortably in the bag but Ren didn’t really care nor even felt much anymore. Only exhaustion seeping in.

He didn’t want to answer, so he closed his eyes, right hand wandering into his pocket, where the smooth leather glove rested peacefully. He won’t stop believing in their promise. Nothing was settled yet and he won’t back out now, he will continue holding on to it, no matter how much time passes. It was the only thing left for him. The only way to remember, the proof of the existence once so big, now nearly completely forgotten. But Ren won’t forget. He will refuse with all his might to do so, even if others don’t feel the same way.

* * *

“-of the recently released mobile application! It’s unbelievable how popular it got in such short amount of time, but not exactly unexpected, isn’t it?”

“Haha, yes, we wished it would meet the expectations of everyone around Japan, no, maybe even everyone around the world. Such a strong, positive response gives our development team new energy and fires up their passion to further advance it’s qualities. It’s made especially for the purpose of making everyone’s lives easier, after all, so we are determined to-“

“Aaah, it’s been a while since we rode this train, wasn’t it?” Morgana asked excitedly, turning Ren’s attention off the interview with some IT company guy shown on the info screen.

“Feels like home, huh?” Ren joked and glanced around. The train was sort of empty, but it was early afternoon hours, and Monday at that. Everyone was either working or enjoying the start of their holidays.

“I can’t wait to see everyone! I wonder if lady Ann got even prettier, do you think it’s possible?”

Ren only chuckled lightly at the excited exclamations, feeling his tensed up body relaxing more with every minute closer to the Jongen-jaya station.

“I missed this,” he admitted after a while and Morgana shuffled in his bag.

“What do you say we go check out on everyone while we are finally back? Maybe a short trip to Shujin?”

Ren laughed, this time a bit louder, attracting disapproving looks from a few passengers. Well, right, to them it looked like he was laughing to himself, and it _might_ be pretty weird from their perspective. But, he supposed his mood was too good to care about it. He wasn’t weighed down with false accusations and probation related stuff anymore either. Save for one constant sting in his heart, he really felt a lot lighter and more free now than he did for the last few, but long and lonely, months.

“It’s summer holidays, Morgana, not the time to be thinking about school again. But sure, if we have a chance…”

“Oh, oh, we are almost at the station!” Morgana squeaked and stirred some more, further affecting Ren’s mood. He could feel his own longing and excitement raising up like a wave. He was almost back.

When they got off the air conditioned train wagon back into the scorching heat and deadly humidity, he wondered for the umpteenth time why does he only wear long sleeved trousers again. He braced himself mentally for what will await when they leave the shade of the station and go into the streets of familiar town.

“Mona, you are walking, I don’t want the bag to glue itself to me even more,” he informed his companion, standing half a step away from the clear boundary separating shaded and lighted parts of the pavement.

Morgana didn’t protest, as he thought he would, jumping off the bag swiftly and down on the concrete.

“If my delicate cat paws get burnt over that, you are buying me a monthly supply of sushi!” he warned but clearly didn’t mind too much. Actually, he seemed to be buzzing with energy, like he’d just want to spring off and run full-force to the café.

Ren breathed in the familiar smell of Yongen-jaya, the one of hot concrete and earth, accompanied by tinge of rusting metal. He walked off the station straightening up, smiling, thinking if the change in his posture to more relaxed and confident one could make him unrecognizable to some of the neighbors. He was passing by the half-familiar and unfamiliar faces, and thought it’s really great to be back. If there was one place on Earth he would constantly come back to, it was certainly the small café now emerging in his sight. By the time he reached it, he already felt pretty sweaty under the heat, but not unmanageably so. He looked down on Morgana with a grin and question in his eyes. The cat grinned back and nodded firmly, encouraging him to open the door, the familiar jingle ringing softly in the air.

They entered the café, ready for the sudden outburst of cheers and greetings… but there was no one there. Café was completely empty and quiet, like he was the first to get to it today. Even Sojiro couldn’t be found at his usual place behind the counter, only the lone crossword laying abandoned on it’s top. Ren furrowed his brows and picked Morgana up, opened his mouth to ask the question they were both having in mind and then-

“-two, one!” came Ann’s agitated whisper.

“Welcome back!”

“Welcome home!”

“We’ve missed you!”

Several voices shouted as their matching figures jumped out from the hiding behind the booths and counter, even Sojiro emerging from the corner of the kitchen, look on his face something between amused and “why am I even doing this?”. There were a few _pop_ sounds and confetti flew around everywhere. Ren’s first thoughts on that were: one – it’s going to look really not manly, stuck in his hair, and two – damn, someone (probably him, knowing how life works) will have to clean it up later. But then the warm and happy feeling swelled up inside him and next thing he knew there was Futaba clinging to his waist, Ann joining at his left side and Ryuji on right for the huge group hug, squeezing Morgana in the process.

“I couldn’t wait to see you again!” Futaba mumbled into his shirt and hugged him tighter.

“It’s not the same without you, leader!” Ryuji ruffled his hair with emotion.

“We missed you so much!” Ann added with a bit muffled voice, was she tearing up?

“I missed you too, guys.” Ren barely held back from sniffling, completly overwhelmed with the warmth and affection. He felt like he was able to breathe again after a very long time, and thinking it almost pressed the air out of his lungs. He gave his friends one last squeeze and loosened his arms, taking a step back to take a look around at the others. Everyone was smiling, Haru and Sojiro with wetness glittering in their eyes. He averted his eyes quickly, knowing the mere sight for being contagious.

“Okay, kids, take your party upstairs, I need to open up the shop soon,” Sojiro said finally, still looking at Ren with fatherly fondness. Everyone started gathering up their things and heading towards the stairs, to the attic room. “Come on, go up, it’s your room after all,” the owner added with a wink and Ren was ready to just sit down on the floor and melt down right here right now. He felt like he couldn’t be any happier now. The smell of coffee and curry and wood lingering everywhere. The kind eyes, honest faces, familiar voices. It was home, he was home.

“I’m home,” he told Sojiro, needing to voice the thought, and the man stretched out his hand to ruffle his hair.

“Welcome home, you troublemaker. Remember you are helping with the shop later, so don’t exhaust yourself too much!”

Ren nodded energetically, internally drooling at the thought of being able to make and drink _the real coffee_ again soon, and hurried upstairs to join the rest of the former Phantom Thieves.

Though the attic room was pretty empty by itself, it didn’t feel like this with everyone comfortably scattered around. They also dragged the old table to the sofa, like they used to do in their phantom thievery days. When Ren took his place in the usual spot at the shorter end of the table, closest to the window, he almost expected the familiar figure of Akechi to appear behind him and place the gloved hand on the back of the chair. Most people could perceive it as a threatening gesture. Ren, well, Ren sometimes allowed himself to think it was sort of possessive. The thought was, for some reason, both heartwarming and bitter.

“Ren, hey, Ren are you listening?” Futaba waved at him from the opposite end of the table. He blinked and rubbed the back of his neck.

“He did appear to be lost in his own thoughts.” The voice behind him belonged to Yusuke, leaning comfortably against the work desk.

“Anyways…” Makoto cleared her throat and started, taking charge, for which Ren was pretty thankful at the moment.

“The trip, we were talking about the trip!” Ryuji cut in suddenly, voice excited, and the girl rolled her eyes at the interruption.

“Trip is such a good idea, let’s do something fun!” Ann cheered.

“That does sound lovely!” Haru clapped her hands with a wide grin.

“The trip…” Yusuke pondered. “If it’s the trip, the destination _must_ be Kyoto!”

“Why Kyoto? It’s not a school trip, Yusuke” whined Ryuji.

“Kyoto has been a source of inspiration to many artists over ages and I certainly wish to experience its wonders myself. The most beautiful shrines, old architecture, the-“

“Right, right, no one is interested in art! That’s boring, let’s do something else!” Futaba objected, crouching on her seat on the opposite side of the room and Ren could hear Yusuke gasping in bewilderment behind him.

“I was thinking something closer for a start, actually…” said Ann thoughtfully, sounding almost apologetic. “Like a camp somewhere nearby, we could do a lot of stuff together all day, like… like barbeque and stargazing!”

“Barbeque!” at least three other voices exclaimed happily, Ren included.

“Barbeque, hm, I cannot resist the perspective of the grilled meat of great quality when it’s offered like this to me. Barbeque it is, then!” Yusuke’s voice was dead serious.

“Dude, what happened to the art thing, huh?” Ryuji murmured under his nose, making Ren smile a little. Yusuke’s priorities were forever unchanging.

“I never went on camping before though,” he said. “What do we need to get?”

“Mwahaha” Futaba shot up from her chair, dropping the imitation of villain’s laugh for the effect. “That’s where I step in!” Ren couldn’t exactly imagine Futaba participating in this kind of outdoor activities, so he looked at her with the new curiosity. She snatched the phone from her pocket and presented it to them like a great prize. “EMA! What do we need for the camping trip?” she asked her phone. Everyone looked among themselves with uncertainty. Who the heck was Ema? Then there was a _bling_ sound and synthetic womanly voice came out of Futaba’s phone.

“Hello. I made a list of the basic equipment, to make sure you enjoy your trip. Most of it can be acquired in the shop near 705 in Shibuya” the voice answered, leaving almost everyone with their mouths open.

“Wow, what was that?” Ryuji asked and stretched his body towards Futaba, trying to take a look at her device. She showed them the screen with a blue M-like icon floating around on it.

“Oh, I heard about that!” said Ann and adjusted herself on her seat. “It’s that app from the Maddice company isn’t it?”

“Maddice? I heard that name before…” Haru furrowed her brows slightly, pondering.

“Isn’t it the IT company that became somewhat of a big shot recently?” Makoto asked.

“The one we saw on the train!” Morgana pointed out to Ren, and he nodded, remembering the interview broadcasted on the train’s info screen earlier today.

“Yes! It’s really cool, you should all download it so I can send you friend requests.” Futaba beamed.

“What is it, though? It searched up the information you asked for in mere seconds…” Makoto tilted her head questioningly, but she realized the answer for herself not a half second later. “Oh, is it the AI?”

“That’s right!”

“Ai? Like love?” Ryuji furrowed his brows and leaned back on his chair, crossing arms.

“A. I. not ai, you moron.” Ann elbowed him, almost making him drop off the chair.

“Wow, okay, okay!”

“It’s the short for artificial intelligence, isn’t it?” Ren asked. “I honestly wasn’t aware it’s so advanced already, felt like the science fiction dream not so long ago.”

“He hee, you just aren’t updated on the matter, my young cat dad.” Futaba waved aimlessly at them all. “Come on, folks, download it right now, so I can see you really did!”

“You must have been pretty lonely in that artificial, online world, Futaba,” Yusuke said with grave expression, fiddling with his phone already.

Ren also fished his own out of the pocket, noticing a lone unread message that somehow went unnoticed before. It was probably mother, so he will deal with this later, he thought, sliding the notification off the screen for now.

“Shut up, Inari!,” Futaba yelled, then pointed at Yusuke with devilish smile. “You better set your nickname as Inari or I will hack your miserable bank account!”

“Hahaha,” Yusuke laughed his unsettling, artistic laugh that usually served him for the times he became aware of something or got suddenly inspired. Futaba shifted uncomfortably in her place. “You can try, Oracle, but I must warn you, you will find only hollow emptiness in there, for I have already retracted all of the funds for the sake of our trip!”

“Yusuke, that’s…” Makoto started worriedly but trailed off and sighed, apparently deciding to leave the lecturing for later, then got back to helping Haru with the downloading process.

Ren downloaded the thing from the app store, and it appeared on his screen in the exact same place the Metaverse app used to be before, pulling a string in his heart. The white and blue icon blinked at him, reminding him a bit of the interior of Maruki’s palace, sterile clean. He tapped the icon open and typed his name and surname in the registration bars. The voice he now identified as EMA greeted him and asked how she can be of help. Well, he could think of _many_ issues he needed help with, but certainly doubted an AI app, no matter how advanced, could be of assistance with them. The friend invitation from Futaba appeared on his screen right away, so he accepted it, then closed the app and pocketed his phone, not really in the mood to explore the many wonders of advanced technology at the moment.

“Huh, so it’s not the social media app…” Ann wondered aloud.

“Social media? Why?” Ryuji asked, but Ren leaned forward a bit too, to hear them better.

“Mika-chan was saying something about gathering followers there and it helping her with gaining popularity the other day, so I wondered if it’s something like other social media apps, but it’s apparently a sort of browser thing too?”

“It does look like it has a variety of uses,” commented Ren, not really in a dire need for another tool like this on his phone. He barely even used it nowadays.

“Damn, this ai- I mean AI, it’s pretty cool, huh? I guess it saves time if it does everythin’ for ya,” Ryuji said, eyeing the icon on his screen suspiciously. “Well, if it’s useful, I guess a tool as good as any, tho.” He pocketed his phone too and looked around, Ren following his suit. Everyone seemed to be finished with downloading EMA. “So, y’all, do you guys wanna hang out some more today?”

“Me and Mako-chan have some business after that, sorry, Ryuji-kun.” Haru shook her head.

“I have to help boss with the café later, I don’t know if you heard him.”

“Oh, yeah, and you are probably tired from the trip, we shouldn’t stay too long today” said Ann.

“We should probably just decide who is going to get which supplies for the trip and finish for today.” Makoto smoothed the wrinkles on her shirt.

“Uh, I guess we can go get the heavy stuff tomorrow, what do ya say, Ren-Ren?” Ryuji asked with a wide grin, already getting excited again.

“Sure.” Ren nodded. It’s been a while since he was in Shibuya. Maybe he should drop by Untouchable too, if they have time for it.

“I want to go buy meat!” Morgana offered. “Yusuke, let’s go pick the finest ones!” Ren could swear he can see Morgana salivating and imagined a similar look on Yusuke’s face. He snorted and shook his head.

“Don’t forget about the vegetables!” Makoto scolded.

“Oh, if it’s not a problem, maybe we could use some of the ones we grew together, Mako-chan?” Haru suggested with a gentle smile. That somehow made Makoto blush.

“D-do you think they are edible?” she mumbled under her nose.

“They certainly are!” Haru beamed at her. “Oh, by the way, we will have to chop the wood for the campfire, right? Leave it to me!” she offered happily and with some sort of determination in her voice. Ren could swear he saw Ryuji flinch at that.

Eventually Makoto managed to split the tasks between everyone, then they talked a bit more and disbanded for the day. Everyone except him, Morgana and Futaba left, waving goodbyes and thanking boss for the curry he made them earlier. When the door closed behind last one of them, Ren sighed with content and got behind the counter to pull on his green apron.

“That’s the spirit,” Sojiro praised with the familiar smirk. “I hope you didn’t forget how to make coffee, huh?”

“Believe me, Boss, I hope so too. I didn’t drink a single drop of coffee back there, it’s all trash compared to what we serve here.”

“Make us a cup then, for a start, since there are no customers now. Need to make sure you won’t poison anyone,” Sojiro said without venom and busied himself with swiping the counter. Futaba giggled and sat down in one of the empty booths, fiddling with her phone, Morgana following her to peer over her arm.

Ren closed his eyes and breathed the smell of Leblanc in. Even if long months passed, everything here was exactly the same, giving him an illusion of never leaving in the first place. He smiled under his nose and got to work, letting his body fall into familiar rhythm. He didn’t think much, choosing the beans, pouring water, waiting an exact amount of time for every part of the process to happen. All that was honed into him to the point of becoming his second nature. And he loved that feeling.

When he placed two steaming cups on the counter, one in front of Sojiro and one for himself, the boss gave him a wide, satisfied grin.

“It’s like you never left in the first place, huh?”

Ren nodded, letting a small smile to arch the corners of his mouth too. He breathed in the smell of the freshly made coffee, when he suddenly realized.

“Oh, this one, it’s-“ Sojiro shot him a look but didn’t finish the sentence. They sat in the silence for a minute, sipping their drinks when he decided to speak again. “So, how is it back home?” he inquired.

Ren felt his smile turn bitter.

“It’s no home at all, Boss.” He motioned the cup in his hands so the fluid started swirling gently.

“Kid…”

“Uh, it’s okay, I didn’t want to start a pity party, that’s just how the things are.” The boss didn’t look convinced. Ren sighed. “Through the whole year of my probation, did my parents try to contact you at least once?” The look on Sojiro’s face said it all, as he only knitted his brows and rose his cup up to take a sip. “So yeah, it’s like I suddenly ceased to exist in their eyes. I guess my mother is… trying to fix that, but it’s not that easy.” At least not as easy as forgiving someone who tried to killed you, apparently, he thought and almost smiled at the irony.

Futaba rose up from her place quietly and strolled over, hands behind her back. She tugged at the back of his shirt.

“Idiot. You know you could have just stayed here,” she said. He felt something swell in his throat, threatening to choke him to tears. He nodded, not trusting his voice to be steady.

Sojiro looked at them then down at his coffee and tapped the cup with a finger.

“Did you decide already what do you want to do after school?” he asked.

“Uni… probably.”

“Listen, just… just hang in there till the end of school and come back here. I said it already, but that room up there, it’s yours, it won’t change. Even if some technical difficulties come up, we will overcome them.”

“Together.” Futaba beamed and hugged his waist.

“Don’t you dare forget about yours truly!” Morgana jumped on the counter and they all smiled and giggled at each other, Sojiro not even trying to shoo him off this time. Yes, the place back there wasn’t home. Leblanc was.

* * *

Ren barely managed to go upstairs around two hours later, after Boss and Futaba went home and closed the place up, when his forgotten phone rang in his pocket. The sense of déjà vu was pretty strong, as it happened often in the past, while he was still a Shujin student. He fished the thing out of his pocket and answered it, briefly noticing the caller’s ID and familiar icon.

“Senpai!” cheerful voice greeted him, making him smile.

“Sumire, what’s up?” He strolled to the window and opened it to let in some fresh, but still hot night air inside. The charms of living in Japan.

“Oh, oh, it’s Sumire? Hi!” Morgana jumped on his bed excitedly.

“Is that Morgana-senpai’s voice? It’s been a while, both of you! I heard from Futaba-chan that you are back in Tokyo, was it today?”

“Yeah, we barely settled in yet.” Ren looked around and his gaze focused on something laying abandoned under the shelf.

“Oh, I hope I’m not interrupting? You must be tired after the travel.” The tone of her voice shaded with a genuine worry.

“Don’t worry, Sumire, I’m free right now.” He crouched down by the shelf and held his phone in place with his arm while trying to retrieve the object from under the furniture.

“Okay, then! I’m actually not in the city myself right now, but if you plan to stay there the whole summer, maybe we could meet up later?” Her voice turned enthusiastic again.

“You are not in Tokyo?” he asked, pulling on the thing that seemed to be somewhat stuck.

“I’m on the summer training camp with the coach right now, but it’s not going to last all duration of our holidays!”

“Oh, the strict lady. Sure, when you are back then, we can hang.” He finally pulled the thing out but almost dropped his phone in the process. It slipped from between his cheek and arm and only his quick reflexes saved it from the close screen-to-floor encounter. He quickly raised it back to his ear.

“…keep you updated, senpai!” Sumire didn’t seem to notice something was off for a moment. “Oh, the coach is calling me back to practice already. I will be in touch, senpai. Have a peaceful night!”

“Thanks for the call, Sumire. See you.” He tapped the red dot on the screen, ending the call. Morgana was looking at him with amusement.

“That was a show of skills worthy of the Phantom Thief,” he teased. Ren only snorted and looked at the object he tried to retrieve with such dedication. “Ohh, that brings back memories! How come you left it here?” Morgana hopped on his lap and opened the album with one paw. They looked at the picture on the first page together.

The album was given to him the day before he was going to leave Tokyo. The opening photograph was taken at the beginning of February, the same day they went to Maruki’s Palace to take back their reality. It was still a wonder how the photo survived the change of realities, as everything else went back to the way it should have been. It was Ann’s idea to take it, and they shot it with Haru’s phone as it had the best camera.

They were all in it. Yusuke taking the selfie as they decided he has the longest arms and artist’s eye, with Futaba glued to his side, grinning like a Cheshire Cat. Sumire right next to her, the smile not as wide as it used to be when she thought herself being Kasumi, but genuine nonetheless. Ryuji and Ann on the other side, the girl striking a cute pose and the guy with his mouth slightly open through the toothy smile, like he was just about to say something. Behind Sumire, Haru, holding Morgana in her arms and smiling cutely, with Makoto right beside her, looking a bit confused, like she wasn’t able to decide what expression she should be wearing.

And then, at the very back, the two of them. Ren, with his eyes almost completely hidden behind the reflection of the glasses, head tilted slightly, looking and the boy next to him. And Akechi, the _true_ Akechi, not having his polite TV smile plastered on the face, but looking a bit impatient and kind of _done_ , like he couldn’t believe they were wasting their time taking some stupid photos when there was a job to do. Looking slightly away, but nevertheless _there_.

There was no way Ren could have taken the album back with him and held himself together for months. He didn’t reply to Morgana, just turned the page to look at the other pictures.

The album was almost full, only leaving a dozen of pages left by the end, as everyone claimed, for the story to continue from where they left it. The album didn’t consist of only photographs. Some pages had a few sentences or catchphrases written down on, there were some more or less skilled drawings here and there too. It was mostly the pictures they took together. From Hawaii, the Shujin cultural festival, the parties they held together after successful missions or while just hanging out together to relax.

They weren’t only the pictures of the Phantom Thieves, either. Somehow, there were also other familiar faces there – as others explained to him, from the time they were contacting people he knew to search for the proofs of his innocence. They must have been planning to make this album for longer than he expected.

They swept through the pages in silence till they reached the blank ones.

“We should take more pictures during our camp trip,” Morgana suggested. “There is not enough pictures of me and lady Ann together!”

There is only one with Akechi on it, Ren thought, but didn’t say out loud. He carefully placed the album on the shelf, now the only item on it. He picked up his phone from where he placed it on the floor before, and that was when he remembered the unread message, probably mother already starting with the ‘contacting him’ thing.

**[Unknown] 1:47 PM**

_Shibuya Station Square tomorrow, 2PM._

Ren furrowed his brows at the message. It couldn’t have been Ryuji, they didn’t make plans yet at the time it was sent. Besides, he had his contact info. Did he make plans with someone before and forgot? He rubbed the back of his neck, thinking hard.

“What’s up?” Morgana looked at him questioningly, comfortable at the top of the table they didn’t bother cleaning back up.

“Did I make plans with anyone before coming back?”

“Not that I remember, why?” The cat tilted his head to the side.

“Someone texted me to meet up tomorrow at Shibuya, but it’s an unknown sender.”

“Hm… maybe it’s Yoshida?”

“He would be more polite about it.”

“Mishima?”

“Not enthusiastic enough.”

“Iwai, then?”

“That’s the closest, but wouldn’t he rather have me go to his shop instead?” Ren sighed and typed the short reply.

**[Me] 7:58 PM**

_Who are you? Don’t have this contact saved._

“Well, are you going to meet them?”

“Wouldn’t hurt, I guess, and we are going to be there around that time anyways.” He paused for a second. “Oh, you aren’t coming, right? Me and Ryuji, then.”

“Yeah, Yusuke will pick me up around noon. Anyways, let’s go take a bath, what do you say? I’m feeling all sweaty from all this travelling and the weather.”

Ren grabbed the change of clothes and the towel, and they went to relax a bit in the bathhouse. It was empty, fortunately, so no one could complain about him bringing a cat inside. He checked his phone a few more times that night but the unknown sender didn’t ever text him back.


	2. The unknown sender

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Navi-“ started Ren, but the sentence was never meant to be finished, cut off by someone’s really angry and really familiar voice sounding off from behind him.  
> “You two fucking idiots…!” it hissed and Ren felt his shirt being forcefully grabbed from behind.  
> The world shook and the reality swirled into kaleidoscope of colors of the world, then pulled them in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This time around, we meet the unknown sender of the message... He's a really nice guy, I'm telling you! *fingers crossed behind my back*
> 
> The first arc begins, so catch the "poster" I drew for it, as a thank you for the 100 kudos on this work!

There was the overly familiar sense of falling down, but instead of immediately waking up – like it usually goes with falling in the dreams – he was just falling _more_. Next thing there were chains, pulling him down, and only _then_ he felt himself back to consciousness. He struggled to open his eyes, noticing the lack of the blanket (did he kick it off in a sleep?) or Morgana (did he go somewhere?) at his side. For a split second he considered just going back to sleep, when he felt it. Not the smell of his room, nor the Leblanc’s attic’s but-

“The Velvet Room?” he breathed out, abruptly sitting up.

The familiar, dimmed blue light, empty walls, the prison cell. There was no mistaking it. He noticed the small figure standing by the door of the cell and quickly got to his feet, feeling more awake than ever.

“Lavenza?” He grabbed the cold rods of the cell’s door and yes, it was her, the blue outfit, long blonde-ish white hair, mysterious yellow eyes. Her expression was complicated, like she was happy and sad at the same time, both emotions battling over taking lead on her face.

“Welcome back to the Velvet Room, my beloved Trickster.” Her lips smiled, eyes narrowed gently, but brows betrayed a great worry.

“Lavenza? What’s going on? I thought the Metaverse disappeared?”

Her face was solemn once again when she answered. “You have indeed successfully completed your mission, your achievements are no lie. But it seems your fate was taken captive once again. You are once again held prisoner to the greater force of evil.”

“Is it… Yaldabaoth again? Did he somehow come back?” All he had was questions and the prayer she knew how to answer them.

“He was certainly not the only powerful, opposing player in this eternal struggle for preservation, my Trickster. But I am not fully aware of the identity of this new evil either, forgive me. Even so, I know it’s the time for you to rise once more, and to defend the humankind yet again.” She took a deep breath. “And I will aid you in this task with all I can offer.” Her voice was quiet and steady, yet he could feel the apology in the tone of her voice. None of it was her fault, though.

“It’s not your fault,” he told her, and thought. Did it mean they will be able to access the Metaverse once again? Who was the new foe? Where were they hiding? How were they Phantom Thieves going to deal with them? If he was going to be completely honest with himself, it didn’t exactly feel like bad news. He _did_ miss the other world. He missed being Joker, their missions, having a goal, making a difference out there. He missed being… not powerless. He raised his head to ask Igor about it- But Igor wasn’t there.

“Huh?” He felt confusion seeping in. He looked at Lavenza again – she was watching him quietly, questioningly, waiting for him to talk – then he looked back at the empty seat by the desk. “Wh-where is Igor?” he finally managed to ask. Understanding colored her face.

“Master is… currently unavailable. But don’t worry, Trickster, I will aid you on your new journey without fail.”

Ren opened his mouth to ask another question but the alarm rang from somewhere behind the attendant. She looked back at the source of the sound then at him again. A warm and encouraging smile still bearing a hint of sadness bloomed on her face.

“It seems like our time is up. We shall meet again soon.”

He felt irritation welling up inside him. He didn’t even get to know who to blame for this, why haven’t they got more time? Who or what decided it? There were still so many things he needed to ask, but the room started getting blurry already, sending his consciousness back to his real body. He thought about Igor, and why wasn’t he there. Did he need to take care of someone else now, another wild card like him? Was the Metaverse going back in the same form as before now? Will Jose be there? The boy’s image in his memory was the last thing on his mind before the darkness engulfed him.

* * *

When he woke up again, it was a Tuesday morning and Morgana was nowhere to be seen, probably indulging in whatever treats Boss had for him downstairs. Ren changed from his sleeping clothes, wincing at the sight of all long pairs of trousers and firmly deciding to buy some shorts as soon as possible, while pulling one of them on. He checked his phone but save for the few messages in the former Phantom Thieves chat there was no other activity. The mysterious sender still didn’t reply and Ren was starting to think maybe they just made a mistake and got too shy or lazy to apologize for it. He was fine with whatever. He brushed his hair a little, then fished out the toiletries from the still unpacked luggage so he could go down and brush his teeth.

The café was open, but with no customers in sight. Sojiro watched the news on tv from his usual place behind the counter, while Morgana ate something in the kitchen. They greeted each other briefly and went back to their respective businesses.

Looking his reflection in the mirror in the eyes, Ren turned around endless possibilities in his head. Should he tell everyone what Lavenza told him? They all knew her after the one time she asked to meet them in the nurse’s office at Shujin, so they shouldn’t be too surprised, right? He wondered how each of them will react to the fact of Metaverse being accessible again. Will they want to pick up the Phantom Thieves business up once again or it will be an unwanted nuisance they’d rather avoid? He sighed and almost choked on the foam the toothpaste formed in his mouth. He should definitely focus first, and when the news settles in for him, then talk to others about it.

When he walked out of the toilet, feeling as fresh as one could in the middle of summer, he suddenly remembered something and halted in his steps, feeling Sojiro’s curious gaze on his back. He tried concentrating, like he used to in old times, reaching into his own mind in a way the words couldn’t possibly describe.

_Arsene? Are you there?_

_I,_ came the answer, _am always with you._

Ren smiled and hurried upstairs, putting on shoes and grabbing a bag with his wallet and phone inside, before going downstairs again. Sojiro threw something at him as soon as he made it to the counter and he caught it on reflex. It was the key to the café, with the small key chain bearing the Phantom Thieves logo attached to it.

“Huh? The logo?” He looked up at the Boss questioningly.

“Futaba got it in Akihabara a few weeks ago. She claimed it will be a great joke to give it to you, so I went ahead and attached it to the key. It’s yours.”

“In Akiba…?” Was Ren dreaming or something was still wrong with this reality?

“It’s some official merchandise, apparently. Well, as official as it can get, right? I don’t think you take any profits from it, unless you are hiding something from me.”

“Nyahaha, our popularity is legendary, huh?” Morgana jumped on the bar stool. “Some people still remember our existence. I guess we became some sort of urban legend, huh?”

“Remember our existence, huh?” Ren repeated under his breath.

Sojiro slid a cup of coffee and a croissant on a small plate his way. “Here, eat before you go. Can’t have you passing out in this weather. And you look like you could use some coffee.”

“That’s right, and you didn’t sleep well, did you, Ren?” Morgana waved his tail worriedly. “You were mumbling in your sleep, you know.”

He didn’t find it necessary to answer now, stuffing his face with the buttery pastry and divine coffee. When he finished, he patted Morgana’s head and stood up to leave, but paused for a moment, remembering Sojiro can’t really communicate with Morgana.

“Oh right, Boss, I’m heading out to meet up with Ryuji now, but this guy is staying, Yusuke is supposed to drop by later and take him shopping,” he informed and took a look around.

“There are no customers here yet, so I will hang out downstairs some more, I guess. It’s kind of worrying though, ever so empty.” Morgana waved his tailed again and Ren suppressed the urge to snort at the comment.

“Oi, tell your cat to not meow so worriedly.” Sojiro’s scolding tone of voice was reserved for Morgana but it felt like he was scolding Ren, since he was the one being talked to.

“Uhh, Boss! I can understand you just fine!” Morgana said, which probably sounded like agitated meowing to the older man.

“He says you can scold him directly, no need for the messengers!” Ren laughed and smoothly avoided sharp claws reaching out his way.

“Right, right.” Sojiro waved his hand dismissively and smiled at him, then his gaze drifted back to the TV. “Remember you are helping with the café later. And don’t get into trouble!”

As if Ren ever in his life voluntarily got into trouble.

* * *

By the time he got to Shibuya to meet Ryuji near the Buchiko, Ren already wished he didn’t leave the attic at all today at least as many times as he wished it started to snow suddenly. It was scorching hot and the godforsaken long pants didn’t make his life easier, save for maybe protecting him from getting sunburnt down there. It was almost noon, so the sun stood high, offering a very little shadow even in the city full of tall buildings. He bought himself and Ryuji some cold drinks in the vending machine, while constantly regretting not owning a hat to protect his head from overheating.

Ryuji was waiting for him at the promised spot, fanning his face with one hand and tugging his sleeveless shirt away from his torso with the other. Ren noticed Ryuji’s shorts with some bitter jealousy he would never admit himself to feeling.

“Yo!” the friend greeted him, wide smile emerging on his face like the sun from behind the clouds. “Is it just me or the summer’s pretty frickin’ hot this year?”

“The climate change,” Ren suggested and gave Ryuji one of the drinks he’ve bought.

“Thanks, man, next one’s on me.” He made a motion like he wanted to pat Ren’s arm but changed his mind. “Since you are here, let’s go already. Imma stand under the air con for five minutes straight when we get to that shop.”

“Do you know the way?”

“Oh, shit, well, nah. Uh… won’t the app from yesterday know tho, wasn’t it all about that?” Ryuji took his phone out even before he finished the sentence. “Um… EMA?”

“How can I assist you today?” The synthetic voice still made Ren feel sort of uncomfortable and he felt Arsène stir curiously inside his mind.

“So, uh, the shop from yesterday, how do we get there?”

“Preparing a route.” There was a _bling_ sound a second later and Ryuji’s eyes widened considerably.

“Oh, damn, the whole map popped out. Didn’t know it had this function too.”

“I’m surprised it knew which shop you meant in the first place, you didn’t give it much details.” Ren knitted his brows, the modern technology was really something else.

They were preparing to set off from their spot when excited shouts reached their ears. Ren honestly admired the amount of energy the yelling people must have possessed to do that in this weather.

“Huh? Some sorta event?” Ryuji wondered and strained his neck to look in the direction the voices came from.

There was another _bling_ and synthetic voice spoke again. “Event suggestion! There is a meet with Alice Hiiragi taking place in front of Shibuya 705.”

“Who?” Ren scratched his head, wondering if it was someone he should have heard about.

“Ohhh, Alice, for real?!” Ryuji seemed fired up suddenly. “She’s super cute!”

“Alice Hiiragi. Japanese fashion model and artist. She is known for her fairy-tale-like, cute and colorful outfits. She has recently gained many fans among the young generation as a pop culture influencer,” EMA supported.

“Huh… Whatever.” Ren shook his head, wishing for death or at least a spot of shadow to hide in, whichever came first.

“Man, you never change.” Now Ryuji shook his head in disbelief. “Come on, let’s take a look since we are already here, she’s super cute. And it’s actually on our way too.” Not waiting for his answer, he grabbed Ren’s arm and dragged him in the right direction. Some leader I am, thought Ren with resignation, picking up the pace and opening his drink. The cold tea tasted like a blessing, making his thoughts clear up a bit.

There was a pretty large crowd gathered in front of 705, excited cheers filling the air. There was a small scene set up and a few guards standing around to ascertain the event goes peacefully. Ren really didn’t want to be near all those people, the last thing he needed right now was the contact with some foreign sweaty bodies, but Ryuji somehow pushed them through to the very front. As it seemed, just in time for the event’s main guest to appear.

The girl, Alice Hiiragi, as he suspected, was dressed from head to toes in pastel lolita-style clothes. Even her hair – or maybe a wig? – was pastel lime and blue. There were some accessories attached here and there, pretty obvious reference to Alice in Wonderland, but overall she looked like a cotton candy turned person. There was no denying it – she really seemed to be the definition of cute and innocent, but Ren knew better than trust people like this easily. He remembered the food blog Akechi once ran, with adorable photos of himself trying out some popular items, and their descriptions so full of sugar and honey-like words, Ren developed cavities just from reading them. He wasn’t able to cover the smile but it seemed like it didn’t matter. The smile was accompanied by a sting of pain in his heart, though.

The event was apparently set to celebrate an opening of the shop with brand clothes Alice designed. She spoke of everyone wanting to escape reality sometimes, and invited them to do it through wearing her clothes. The leading motif seemed to be the Wonderland, which wasn’t surprising once one connected the dots between girl’s name and her clothing. Ren briefly considered if he should check the shop out for some nice summer pants, but looking at the ones she herself was wearing, bright and puffy, he could only imagine having something like this on for two seconds before other Thieves killed him with laughter. Save Yusuke, probably.

He was lost in his own thoughts when Alice emerged before him suddenly, making him focus on reality once again. Arsène hummed contemplatively in his mind, like he was considering commenting on something, but in the end chose not to. The girl was barely reaching his shoulder, but her outfit was making her bright presence a lot bigger. She smiled sweetly and held out something to him with a theatrical gesture.

“Here!” she chirped. “You look really handsome with those glasses!” She paused and looked at him more attentively. “Haha, sorry! Enjoy the little something!” She winked and was gone in another second.

Ren looked at the pastel colored invitation card in his hand. It was styled to resemble an Ace playing card but horizontal. There was ‘key word’ written in English on top of it and a bigger ‘Wonderland’ in katakana under it. He slid the card into his bag, ignoring Ryuji’s urgent tugging on his shirt. It seemed the blonde boy didn’t get one, but they could just look at it more closely later. Now, the heat was getting almost unmanageable, and the bottle in his hand was losing it’s original soothing coolness fast. Thankfully, the event was a short one and they were free to go pretty soon. For some reason Ryuji started walking back in the direction of the Station Square.

“Ryuji, bro, we were going to get the barbeque equipment, did you forget?” Ren grabbed his shirt with a quiet laugh. He felt like there was a lot of people-grabbing going on today. Or it was completely normal amount and he only noticed it after being disconnected from the human touch for the last few months.

“Oh, right, I almost forgot. And it was supposed to be on the way, huh,” he admitted with a hint of embarrassment in his voice. “Got pretty excited with this Alice stuff, she was super cute up close.” Ryuji took out his phone and checked the route to the shop again.

“Her clothes were eccentric.” Was as the most he could say without cooling his friend’s enthusiasm down.

“Yeah, man, she was pulling it off so well. Imagine anyone you know wearing something like this and actually looking good. Impossible.” Ryuji pointed at some direction and they set off.

“Then maybe you should try it out some time, huh?” Ren joked and it earned him a friendly punch in the arm.

“The hell, man, do you wanna awaken my trauma from that trip to Shinjuku last year…?” He winced slightly and looked around subconsciously, while Ren thought he himself would try it if he had a chance. Wouldn’t be his first time dressing as a woman anyways.

The shop was, indeed, exactly where EMA led them. They looked at the barbeque equipment for around half an hour, asking questions to the staff person, comparing the functions, weight and sizes of it, so they could end up with something not too pricey, light enough to carry around and functional at the same time. When they finally decided on one and made their payments, it was already nearing 2 PM and the ‘appointed’ meeting.

When he told Ryuji about it, the friend only shrugged and said he will accompany him, at least to the station square, as he didn’t really have any more plans after that. They went all the way back, figuring out that Ren should be the one to take the newly acquired equipment back with him, as it would be easier to store it in Leblanc than in Ryuji’s small apartment he shared with mom.

The weather wasn’t getting any better, if anything, it was only getting worse. They stopped near the Green Frog, trying to catch a bit of shadow, and decided to wait there while looking out for the mysterious message sender.

“Oh, right!” Ryuji exclaimed suddenly, fanning his face with the empty plastic bottle. The motion was making Ren somewhat self-conscious as he worried about the thing slipping out and hitting Ryuji’s face. “The invitation cards Alice was handing out at the event. You got one, right?”

Ren nodded and rummaged through his bag to get the thing out, wincing slightly at the sight of a bent corner. Maybe it would have been a better idea to put it in his wallet.

“It says… keyword, Wonderland. And there is something else written under it, let me see.” He brushed some sweat off his brow and squinted slightly at the small letters. Ryuji stretched his neck out to take a look too.

“The EMA? Friend keyword?” he asked and fished out his phone. “Is it like, you can be friends with Alice on the app if you put this in?”

“It didn’t work like this when Futaba sent us invitations, though? But I guess… wanna try it?” Ren attempted to fan himself with the small card and the result wasn’t too exhilarating. It pretty much made it useless in his eyes. He glanced at his phone, it was five minutes till the meeting and just like magic, a new message notification appeared on the screen.

**[Unknown] 1:55PM**

_Obviously._

Ren snorted at the audacity and pocketed his phone. He felt it vibrate once again but Ryuji drew his attention away from it.

“Uh, are you sure? You were the one who got it and all…” Ryuji’s voice sounded unsure but hopeful, the whole of Ryuji fidgeting slightly, as if a bit embarrassed. Ren just handed the card over. And looked at Ryuji opening EMA app on his phone and inputting the keyword.

Ren’s own phone started vibrating frantically in his pocket so he reached to take it out again when EMA’s synthetic voice spoke up suddenly.

“Keyword entered. Beginning navigation.”

A lot of things happened at once.

“Huh?!” Ryuji shouted out in surprise and almost dropped his phone.

“Navi-“ started Ren, but the sentence was never meant to be finished, cut off by someone’s _really_ angry and really _familiar_ voice sounding off from behind him.

“You two fucking _idiots_ …!” it hissed and Ren felt his shirt being forcefully grabbed from behind.

The world shook and the reality swirled into kaleidoscope of colors of the world, then pulled them in.

* * *

When Ren opened his eyes, trying to shake off the unmistakable nauseating feeling, the first thing he saw was Ryuji’s masked face, eyes almost bulging out, mouth hanging open. He pointed his finger at something behind Ren.

“ _You_ …!” His voice sounded almost accusatory, like he was just pranked and didn’t like it.

“Yes, _me_.” The voice behind Ren was nothing else but a sneer.

Arsène in his mind stirred with some unspeakable emotion. Or was it him? His throat clenched, stomach dropped, palms suddenly got really cold and shaky. He turned around slowly, shoving hands into the pockets of his Joker outfit.

He was standing there like nothing ever happened, like it was completely natural for him to just _be_ here in this exact spot, facing them after all this time. Arms crossed, one foot tapping impatiently on the road – yes, the road, because somehow they were standing right in the middle of the Scramble – like he was waiting for them to explain their reckless behavior. The black and blue costume was tightly wrapping his body, helmet covering his head and a great part of the handsome face. It _was_ him. Ren swallowed, cleared his throat. Opened and closed his mouth. Curled his palms into fists, nails painfully digging into skin even through the red leather gloves. It didn’t seem like he was dreaming.

“Hi,” Ren said, after almost a minute of thick and unbearable silence.

He always had unwavering faith in his eloquence. He supposed, after all this time, after all that thinking, trying to connect the facts, to prove his point to himself and Morgana, he should be ready for it. He should have some words prepared. But, he realized, he never really thought past the point of the day he sat on the train back in March. His mind got so overcame with emotions and thoughts, it just shut off to blank. _Tabula rasa_. Default settings. Emptiness. Nothing. He felt like he had to keep this state running for a while, or else he was going to break down.

“…hey.” Maybe it was only his imagination, but it felt like Akechi’s posture softened a bit. Or at least relaxed, although both words didn’t really suit him in the first place. Another few seconds of silence followed and no one expected Ryuji to be one to break it, but he did.

“Uh, okay, so…” He strolled closer, stopped next to Ren and shot him a quick look, then focused back on Akechi, “let’s pretend you being here is normal for now, but the other stuff I don’t really get, like, what the heck?”

“Well,” Akechi scoffed, straightening up, “I was trying to warn you, but you didn’t pick up your damn phone.” The look he shot towards Ren was accusatory. Well, it wasn’t his fault for not living with the thing glued to his hand.

“So you knew about… this? Where are we, is the Metaverse back, somehow?” Ren asked, hoping he sounded normal. In a way, it was a stupid question. They were all in their Metaverse attires, after all. He also felt the familiar atmosphere seeping in and awakening his slumbering confidence and bravado. He _was_ Joker again. Arsène was buzzing with excitement inside his mind, but didn’t comment.

“Hey, hey, you are kidding, right? The Metaverse?” Ryuji’s words were questioning but tone of his voice wasn’t. He looked around, taking in the altered scape of Shibuya, and Ren followed his gaze. The time of the day has changed, it seemed to be evening now, but nothing else seemed out of ordinary. Well, at least as far as Shibuya being completely empty of people could be considered normal.

When he looked more closely though, further away he could spot a tall, lit-up building, resembling… a tower? A castle? He wasn’t sure because of the distance, but knew for certain that the structure wasn’t normally located in Shibuya.

Akechi sighed and uncrossed his arms, resting one hand on his hip.

“It seems to be the case, yes,” he confirmed in a flat voice. “I contacted Ren in attempt to notify him of its reappearance, and then most probably tell the rest of you too, since your pack seems to be forever inseparable.”

“Tell us what you know, Crow.” Ren turned his head back to him.

Akechi opened his mouth but the voice that tore through the air belonged to Ryuji.

“Hey, look!” He sounded confused, pointing out in some direction. “Those guys… they don’t look like Shadows, what’s going on?”

Ren squinted slightly, instinct telling him those faces looked vaguely familiar.

“Huh? Weren’t they standing next to us in that crowd by the stage?” He remembered suddenly.

“So you didn’t have your eyes glued to Alice all the time, huh?” Akechi taunted and Ren decided to only focus on the facts the statement provided, not insinuations his brain tried to present to him.

“Dude, he wasn’t interested in Alice at all,” Ryuji sighed, still somewhat disbelieving and shook his head. It felt like he unconsciously defended him.

“So you even followed us there?” Ren addressed the more important issue.

“I was simply around, taking care of my business, when I noticed you,” Akechi countered, voice monotone, as if he got bored of the topic already. “It wasn’t hard with the eye-catching blonde of Sakamoto’s”.

Suddenly, one of the info screens on the nearby building flickered and the image was now showing someone. It was Alice, Ren noticed with surprise, but she looked different than when they saw her back at the event. Her hair was vivid pink, dark lipstick framed the toothy smile. On her head sat a heavy gilded crown, and on it’s both sides huge and creepy eye-shaped… accessories? stared down at them. The most unusual thing were Alice’s own eyes, though. They weren’t deep brown anymore, how he remembered them, but yellow and glowing.

“A Shadow?” Ren muttered under his breath and caught a glimpse of Akechi’s appreciative glance thrown his way. His stomach warmed up in a mix of delight and excitement. Was it the start of the adventure Lavenza spoke of that night?

“Heeey everyone!” Came Alice’s voice, magnified by some imperceptible speakers. “Do you like me?” She made a cute, slightly pouty pose to the camera. The applauding voices could be heard from the direction where the normal-looking guys were standing. “If so, then…” Alice said, dragging out the syllables with so much sugar in her voice it was starting to make Ren feel uneasy, “wouldn’t you give your wishes to me?” Her face twisted in an almost cruel manner, the whole air around her changing drastically.

There came some surprised and frightened shouts suddenly, and then they saw them. The Shadows, wearing police attires, their bodies poor caricatures of the human silhouettes, hollow white masks where faces would normally be. They closed in on the people in mere seconds and…

“What the hell?!” Ryuji shouted next to him and took a step back.

The Shadows reached _inside_ the bodies of these men and when they took their hands out, they were holding some pink and glowing objects.

“This can’t be anything good.” Ren glanced around. The Shadows already noticed them too, which, well, wasn’t surprising, as they stood in the middle of the crossing, perfectly visible from afar.

“We need to go,” Akechi hissed, tone not tolerating objections. Not that anyone would raise any in this kind of situation.

Ren nodded quickly and asked: “How are your navigation skills, still working?”

The other boy snorted in disbelief.

“Who do you take me for.” He grabbed Ryuji’s arm, attracting his attention, which seemed to be focused elsewhere, and pulled. “This way.”

They didn’t run far. The Shadows came in numbers they never witnessed before, basically whole _waves_ of them incoming, circling around them, cutting off their escape route, until the three of them had to stop and draw their weapons, backs pressed closed to each other.

“Shit,” Akechi’s tone was leaking with venom, “we will need to break through one spot, we can’t possibly get rid of all of them now. You both have no weapons on you.”

“We have our personas!” Ryuji said and William’s silhouette blinked and disappeared above him like a nod of confirmation.

“I have my dagger,” Ren informed, slightly surprised by the fact himself. The situation reminded him of when he first awakened to his persona back in Kamoshida’s Palace. The dagger was already there, like a part of his attire, but mysteriously disappeared later, when he bought a better one at Iwai’s shop. 

“I guess it can help…” Akechi didn’t sound convinced. He pointed his gun in front of him. Well, _of course_ he was prepared. He never fired it, though, as if waiting for something. Oh.

“Crow,” Ren spoke up, plan already forming in his head, “you will lead us to the nearest safe place you can sense. Just shoot the Shadows, in the direction we need to go in. Skull, you are gonna tank the path for us, use your persona. I will make sure they don’t get our as- our backs.”

Akechi sneered. “As you wish, _leader_.” His voice was sweet like honey but Ren supposed he’d rather it went back to the venom one. Sounded less deadly. “Careful with your personas. Don’t go ahead and use up all your energy, you are out of practice,” he barked and fired his gun, not giving them time for an answer.

Everything after that was a bit of a haze. Falling back into the rhythm of fighting after such a long while felt painfully slow, but everything seemed to be coming back to them with each defeated enemy. Their movements gained swiftness, their judgement of the situation sharpness. Still, it became clear that without Akechi there they would probably suffer considerably. He didn’t seem as out of shape as they have been, going through the waves of Shadows with ferocity Ren remembered well from Maruki’s palace. It took all of his willpower to stay focused on fighting and not glancing at the other boy every five seconds. He needed to stay calm now, the time for questions and, hopefully, answers will come later.

They managed to break through just in time to avoid the next incoming wave of shadows. It felt like a miracle they were even able to escape being surrounded in the first place, but that fortunate timing made it seem like the luck was actually on their side today. They ran away and hid in the alley behind one of the buildings situated further from the crossing, sweaty and panting after unexpected effort.

“That,” said Ryuji, sliding down with his back to the wall to sit on the ground, “was totally sick, I ain’t doing it again any time soon.”

Akechi snorted in a half-laugh, pressed to the corner of the building and looking out to see if they were being followed.

“Well, Sakamoto-kun, actually you might be forced to do it sooner than you’d like.”

“Skull,” Ren reminded him. Ryuji looked up at him questioningly but then realized he wasn’t being called out.

“Oh, of course,” Akechi spared him an amused glance, “I almost forgot about the funny nicknames.”

Ren sighed and looked around. Ryuji got up on his feet and started dusting off his leather pants.

“Where to now? Do you know where’s the exit?”

“Yes, we will need to-“ he stopped abruptly and narrowed his eyes, “did you hear that?”

“Did we hear wha-whaaa?” Ryuji yelled and jumped towards them like he intended to push them away. Akechi startled and his eyes shot up at something above them.

“Shit, from above!” he exclaimed, but it was already too late, as the heavy net fell down on them and knocked them off their feet into a tangled mess of limbs. The net was heavy, too heavy to be made from natural materials, but it was the Metaverse after all and people’s cognition of the net strongly connected to it’s qualities, making it unescapable.

Stream of curses was leaving Akechi’s mouth as he struggled to do something to free them, but to no avail. Ren noticed a Shadow, holding something in its hands, closing in on them and only heard Ryuji’s alarming call: “Joker!”, before realizing it was some sort of bat. The last thing he saw before it swung towards his head was Akechi’s eyes, widening with alarm behind the red glass of the visor. And next, the darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next week - new character introduction! (and some cheesy flirting *wiggles brows*)


	3. Sophia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Don’t touch it,” Akechi warned him. “It’s the only thing in this dumpster that’s left unscathed, isn’t it suspicious?”  
> “I’m only going to take a closer look.” Ren gently pushed the clawed gauntlet away. Akechi didn’t look convinced but let him go.  
> He stepped closer and looked at the pattern on the box’s surface. He couldn’t help himself. Of course he had to touch it.

When he came to, the first thing he noticed was the heat of the body he was leaning against, his arm hooked over their shoulder, their clawed gauntlet gripping him firmly around the waist, keeping him in vertical position. He coughed, struggled to open his eyes and squinted when the light tried to pry it’s way into his brain like a bunch of needles. His head _hurt_. The throbbing pain at the side of his head was making him dizzy and weak and he already hated that.

“ _Feels like it happened before, doesn’t it?_ ” Arsene asked in his mind and he tried to smirk in response but grimaced with pain instead. He _did_ have a feeling Kamoshida’s Palace went something like this.

“You’ve come to.” Akechi’s voice was quiet and close to his ear, making the skin on the back of his neck tingle. Ren cleared his throat and tried to step more firmly and pull away but almost stumbled instead. Well, there goes his unusual grace. “Don’t strain yourself.” Akechi’s voice didn’t betray any concern but the grip on Ren’s waist tightened.

“What’s the situation?” Ren asked, trying to look around cautiously. He spotted Ryuji on Akechi’s other side, pushed forward by the Shadow guard’s, his face betraying annoyance.

“Where are you taking us, huh?” he demanded and the Shadow pushed him more violently.

“No talking!”

“Jeez, okay, okay.” The blonde gritted his teeth and glanced worriedly at them, but relaxed visibly when his and Ren’s eyes met.

“They are taking us closer to the center of the tower. We may learn something in there if we stay cautious.” Akechi’s voice was barely a whisper.

The guards opened the tall oaken door, revealing the spacious room behind them. It was mostly empty, save for the iron bars here and carousel horses there by the walls, and the low stage, lit up with pink and yellow lights, situated in the center. On top of the platform was a fancy red chair, a throne of sorts. Sitting on it was Alice, dressed in bold pink and black costume. The air around her was completely different than Ren remembered, like she thought herself to be some kind of sadistic queen of the place. Lazily sprawled on the chair, she adjusted her position after spotting them, crossing the legs in black tights and leaning over to look at them curiously.

“Whaaat? Who are those guys?” she asked with a laid-back, slightly amused voice.

“We caught the intruders, but we weren’t able to retrieve their wishes, so we brought them to you, my Queen.” The Shadow behind them informed her and pushed Ren forward. He staggered forward, only now realizing his hands were tied together. Some observant Phantom Thief he was. Akechi’s hand shot forward and caught him by the shoulder before he met the floor in a graceful faceplant.

“What, why is that one not tied? And what do you mean, you couldn’t take their wishes?” Alice stood up angrily but quickly composed herself. “Well, not that it matters.” She strolled down the few stairs to meet them. She seemed taller here, but it was probably either thanks to cognition or her high-heeled boots. She carried a dangerously looking flamingo stick in her hand. “Huuh, you look kind of cool, what’s your name?” Alice pointed the stick at Ren.

“What do you want from us?” he asked back, ignoring her question.

“No talking back!” Alice swang her stick at him and he attempted to grab it, but the pain in his head dulled his reflexes and offed the timing. He readied himself mentally for another bruise on his ribs.

“Joker!” Ryuji exclaimed and tried to shrug the guards off. Ren could easily imagine Akechi rolling eyes at that.

But the pain didn’t come. The clawed black gauntlet caught the stick and snatched it from Alice’s hands with enough force to make her stumble and yelp in surprise. She let the thing go and backed off behind one of the guards.

“We don’t habitually concede to the orders of some nobodies.” Akechi sneered and rolled the thing between his fingers.

“Oh, so you are called Joker, huh?” Her voice didn’t lose any bravado even though she eyed Crow cautiously now. And angrily. Ren supposed Akechi did have that effect on some people. “Well, too bad I don’t have a need for toys that are not obedient. Dispose of that trash!” she yelled at the Shadows.

To Ren’s surprise, Akechi didn’t fight them back, even threw the ugly flamingo stick back at Alice’s feet, making her jump in surprise. Ren shot him a questioning look, trying to reach with his gaze beneath the mask’s red visors. But before any answer came, he understood. It would be much easier to get away from somewhere that isn’t the center of this… Palace? Or similar thing. They should focus on getting out for now and prioritize their own safety before engaging in more fights. They needed more info on the actual nature of the place too.

The guards dragged them away, not caring for pleasantries and dumped them into something that would probably be best described as trash disposal room. Well, Ren had to admit, they took _that_ one order pretty literally, but did he expect creativity from them in the first place? Not really.

“Are you guys okay?” Ryuji grunted from somewhere beneath Ren.

He immediately felt guilty for landing on his friend, though it wasn’t like he had any say in the matter in the first place, and attempted to scramble up to his feet. Akechi was sprawled back on his back nearby, not looking like he was intending to get up any time soon, he even spread his arms to his sides and looked at the ceiling with a slight frown. Ren helped Ryuji up first then outstretched his hand to the other guy. Akechi gave it a considering look then held out his own, letting Ren pull him up too.

“Well,” he said, dusting off his outfit and walking off while taking in their surroundings. “That takes care of fighting our way through the hordes of enemies, at least.”

“Sure but…” Ryuji scratched his head, “ugh, I can’t believe that’s how she really is. The hell’s her deal? And how was she able to frickin’ fool, like, everyone?” Akechi shot him an amused look from over the shoulder. “Ugh, forget I said anything. So, how are we gonna get the hell outta here? Any ideas, smart guy?”

Akechi hummed and took the hand up to his chin. “Joker?” he asked.

“Hm? What? I’m the smart guy?”

Akechi snorted and shook his head. “Apparently not. Let’s search the place first, shall we?”

“Hey, bro.” Ryuji walked up to Ren and tapped his arm lightly. “Are you okay? That Shadow back there hit you pretty hard.”

“I will live, thanks.” Ren said and tried touching the side of his head. It still hurt. He grimaced. Too bad they didn’t have any healer with them.

“Eh,” Ryuji sighed, “I really can’t wrap my head around this bullshit. But it’s the Metaverse, right? We just have to kick her Shadow’s ass. She will pay for it.” He patted his shoulder one last time and turned to go look for some sort of exit in the opposite direction from the one Akechi took.

Ren hesitated for a second then followed after the detective. Detective? Was he even still one? He sighed and circled the pile of trash twice his height, looking around for at least a vent they could crawl through. He didn’t walk too far when he spotted Akechi standing in front of a huge black box, one hand resting on his hip, another propping up his chin.

“That’s a… one big black box. How did they even manage to dump it here?” Ren commented, walking over and stopping on Akechi’s right side. For the safety measures, he told himself. If Akechi was to suddenly get annoyed and punch him, his non-dominant hand may not actually kill him on the spot. Probably.

Akechi shot him an emotionless look.

“Took you long enough,” he said plainly, like it was obvious Ren would follow him, not Ryuji. “The pattern on this box, doesn’t it remind you of something?” Akechi’s head turned back to observe the huge object.

Ren tilted his head and took a step forward to take a closer look, but the other boy’s hand shot forward to stop him.

“Don’t touch it,” Akechi warned him. “We don’t know what it’s purpose is. It’s the only thing in this dumpster that’s left unscathed, isn’t it suspicious?”

“I’m only going to take a closer look.” Ren gently pushed the clawed gauntlet away. Akechi didn’t look convinced but let him go.

“It looks like the surface of an electronic… microchip of sorts? I’m not an expert, Futaba is.” He stepped closer and looked at the pattern on the box’s surface.

It was a cube – taller than him, but at more or less his chest height, there was a break in the pattern. Or more like, all of the lines seemed to connect at this exact spot. He couldn’t help himself. Of course he had to touch it. It wouldn’t hurt, would it? Akechi didn’t have time to react.

The lines on the box suddenly burst with blinding light.

“You complete, utter _idiot_!” The anger and astonishment in Akechi’s voice were so pointed that if the words could kill, Ren would drop dead on the spot. “I _told you_ not to _touch it_! Do you _have_ to touch everything you see?”

Ren briefly recalled the moment, probably not even two hours earlier, when he shoved his hands into the pockets after seeing the other boy alive. Well, it wasn’t Akechi’s fault that he didn’t know the reason behind it. Ren gave his own self-control a high mark, no regrets.

“It doesn’t seem harmful, let’s just see what happens,” he said out loud and backed off a bit, just in case he was wrong.

“If that’s the logic behind all your actions up to this point, I’m honestly amazed you are still standing,” Akechi spat the words through gritted teeth and held his arm up, ready to guard any eventual attack, but didn’t back off.

Ren smirked and mimicked his pose, narrowing his eyes under the bright light. The box seemed to disintegrate into numerous smaller boxes that began collapsing to the inside, the glow becoming even stronger. A voice could be heard, blurred, like affected by some sort of voice-changing device, words definitely spoken in Japanese, but too jammed to be recognizable.

There was a box bursting with light before him in one second, then Ren blinked and suddenly it was gone. Instead, a… girl appeared in front them. She was around Futaba’s height, red haired, with big, blue eyes darting between him and Akechi, perplexed gaze mirroring their own confusion. There was something inhuman about this girl, but not in a dangerous way. The two long braids were made of… where those hearts? And they weren’t even connected to each other, they just drifted together like some sort of magnetic force was keeping them in line, mimicking braids. She was wearing something like a fluffy blouse or tunic with a big collar, and black boots. Harmful was the last thing he would describe her. The girl, who apparently finished studying them, now looked around, the confused look not leaving her face even for a moment.

Ren cleared his throat. “Hello,” he said to her, noticing with the corner of his eye Akechi’s bewildered look shot his way and deciding to ignore it. He was a gentleman thief no less than Morgana, after all.

“What is this place?” the girl asked him, like he knew better than her. “Who are you?” Instead of questioningly tilting her head, she bent her whole body to the side then straightened up again.

Ren opened his mouth to answer, but Akechi was faster this time, apparently set on not letting Ren do any more stupid things for today.

“And you, who might you be?” he asked back, and Ren took a double take at the change of the boy’s whole demeanor. Even though he was still wearing his Black Mask costume, the air around him unmistakably belonged to the charming Detective Prince, ascertained by the gentle tone of voice and the softened body language.

“I’m Sophia!” She smiled and waved her hand enthusiastically, in a way that reminded Ren of a cute mascot. “A good friend of people.”

“A good friend of people? So, you are not a person yourself?” Akechi inquired with the sweetest voice.

“He means, it’s nice to meet you,” Ren cut in before the other boy upset their potential new ally, the scary mountains of trash and the whole Metaverse while he was at it.

“Nice to meet you!” the girl parroted and hopped up and down like a happy kid. “You are humans, right? What are your names?” Well, maybe she wouldn’t get upset over that insinuation after all.

Ren and Akechi exchanged looks and the whole conversation that would take much longer if said out loud, happened between them in that split second.

“I’m Joker, and this is Crow.”

“Joker. Crow. I memorized it.” She leaned to the side again. “So, do you know where we are?”

Akechi opened his mouth to say something back, but there was a sudden sound of steps and Ryuji’s voice called out to them.

“Oiii, is something there? Did you guys leave without me?” Their companion emerged from behind the pile of trash and halted. “Whoa, who’s that child? Is she lost?”

Ren didn’t need to look to know Akechi just rolled his eyes.

“Not less lost than we are, apparently,” the other boy said, voice calm.

“Hello, I’m Sophia, a good friend of people!” The girl jumped few times again.

“A good friend what? You guys are friends already? With Ake- Crow?” Ryuji came closer and looked at the girl curiously.

“Crow. Joker. I am a good friend of all people. Are you a human too?” Sophia leaned to the side again. She was moving so much Ren was getting tired just by looking at her.

“I-I guess?” Ryuji scratched the back of his neck while looking up at Ren questioningly.

“This is Skull, our… comrade.” Akechi looked at Sophia and crossed his arms, as far as Ren could judge, trying to look as unharmful as possible even in the black and blue attire. Well, he wasn’t doing overly _terrible_. “How did you end up here, Sophia-chan? Did Alice throw you down here too?”

Sophia looked at him and furrowed her brows slightly.

“I… don’t know. The memories are gone.”

“Huh, gone? Like, you don’t remember?” Ryuji looked at her worriedly.

Akechi sighed and took one of the hands up to his chin. “Anyways, we need to get out of here first, what say you?” Ren and Ryuji looked at him and nodded in agreement.

“It will be better if we take this outside.” Ren looked around again but the exit didn’t magically reveal itself. They should probably go back to searching for it.

“Are you in trouble?” Sophia asked and everyone’s eyes set on her again. She rose one hand and jumped again. “If you are in trouble, I can help. I am a good friend of people, after all. My purpose is to be helpful to humans!”

“You can help us?” Ryuji asked uncertainly.

“That’s right!” She nodded firmly. “What’s the situation?”

“We need to get out of the building first,” Ren explained.

“Hmm… then it’s enough if you get to the surface?” They all nodded in confirmation. “Understood! Leave it to me. I will take you there, Joker, Crow, Skull!”

Ren and Akechi exchanged looks again and at that moment Sophia began to run.

“Well… Let’s follow, then?” Ren asked, stretching out his neck to not lose the sight of the girl.

“After you, _leader_.”

They jogged after her, avoiding mountains of trash and trying not to trip over broken chairs and ripped decorations laying here and there. The room was pretty lengthy but the stairs emerged in their sight soon enough. Ren tried to not feel like an idiot looking at them. Apparently it would just take a bit more of searching to find such an apparent exit route, had they not gotten distracted by the black box, for better or worse. Sophia was pretty quick, few steps ahead of them all the time.

“O-oi, Sophia!” Ryuji called out to her. “Don’t get too far away, what if you run into a Sha-“ Of course there was a Shadow walking down the stairs right at this moment. Ren decided whatever happens from now on, nothing more will surprise him today.

The Shadow howled furiously and a few more came running down the stairs, blocking the way. Ren ran up to Sophia and placed himself in front of her to keep her from harm.

“Fall back, Sophia, this is going to get dangerous,” he said and took a fighting stance.

The battle was short and silent, which surprised Ren a little. He got used to Akechi’s murderous wild shouts accompanying them since he started working with the Thieves as a Black Mask, or, more accurately, as himself. But, he guessed, they were making a… dumpster break now and keeping their heads - and voices - low would only act in their favor.

When Hereward turned the last enemy to dust, Ryuji was the first to turn back to Sophia and check on her. They engaged in a conversation from which Akira only caught something about Shadows not being exactly nice to people, as he observed Akechi checking his gun and putting it back into the holster. The other boy didn’t look his way at all, watching the stairs, so it took Ren by surprise when he suddenly turned back to him and glared sharply.

“What?” he snapped.

“Hm? What what?” Ren tugged at the lock of hair from his bangs and blinked innocently.

“Is something the matter?” Akechi, of course, saw right through his bullshit. “You’ve been drilling holes in my face just now.”

Ren considered an honest answer for a second, but then, it wasn’t the time and place for that right now.

“Good thing the helmet’s there to protect it,” he said simply and strolled over to Ryuji and Sophie, ignoring the consequences. The talk was awaiting the two of them anyways. They both knew it and consciously pushed the matter away for the meantime. Again, getting out of this place alive was their priority.

Ryuji noticed him walking over and his face relaxed in relief.

“Sophia thinks the Phantom Thieves are cool,” he said.

“You told her we are the Phantom Thieves? Of course you did.” Akechi joined them, voice flat, and Ren tried to pretend hearing him say _we_ next to the _Phantom Thieves_ didn’t trigger something inside him to do abrupt gymnastics.

“Come on, man, she’s on our side.” Ryuji shrugged.

“Let’s stick together from now on, Sophia,” Ren told the girl. “We may meet more enemies on the way. Are you still going to help us?”

“Of course! I was going to do that from the start.” She jumped cheerfully. “You saved me after all, it’s only natural for me to return the favor, right?”

“Welcome to the team, then.” Ren smiled at her.

In the corner of his vision Akechi made a motion like he wanted to pinch between his eyebrows but forgot he had his helmet on, so he just sighed and let his hand fall back down to his side.

“Let’s go, we are wasting time,” he said, and they all nodded in agreement.

* * *

For a while, everything was going smoothly. They moved quietly, undetected, avoiding any Shadows to not put Sophia and themselves in danger, as they were slowly starting to get tired. Well, at least the three of them, because looking at Akechi, it seemed like he could - and would, if necessary - do this all day.

“This one is blocking the path we need to take, and it doesn’t seem like it will move any time soon. We will need to take it out,” Akechi whispered to Ren, still in that more gentle and not exactly _Akechi_ tone, as they were looking out from behind the corner. The Shadow was indeed standing there like a block, not moving at all, scanning the area it was facing like a movement detector.

“I see you are in trouble,” Sophia’s voice rung, loud and clear, suddenly next to them. “I will take care of this for you,” she stated and before any of them could even move a finger, she lunged forward to meet the Shadow guard head on. Ryuji exclaimed in surprise and hurried after her, shouting something.

“Shit, why am I voluntarily stuck with you idiots here,” Akechi growled, cracking his polite mask, and pushed himself off the wall with enough force for the gauntlet’s claws to leave deep scratches on it.

“Always happy to have you,” Ren grinned and they ran after their two companions. He thought it to only be his imagination, but it seemed like Akechi decided to take a petty revenge for the words, as he purposely sped up and left Ren behind when he outrun him a second before.

By the time they caught up with Ryuji, who just stood there dumbstruck and observed, Sophia was already beating the shit out of the three Jack o’Lanterns the Shadow guard split into.

“What the…” Ren felt Arsene in his mind stirring with excitement. “Is that a Persona?”

Sophia looked a bit different now. Her collar changed to a white hood, two braids became one on the back of her head. There was some sort of… mask? covering her face, flat and black like a screen, with two glowing neon-blue rings which seemed to be representing the eyes. There were four cuboids floating around her, seemingly at will, but then they joined together, forming a shield to save her from the sudden fire spell thrown her way, only to fall apart again and shoot the laser beams at the enemies the next second. It didn’t seem like she needed their help with only those few opponents.

“Looks like it.” Akechi watched her with narrowed eyes, thinking.

“But what’s wrong with it’s form?” Ryuji asked, bewildered.

“Why would there be something wrong with it, though? We have a limited experience with the Metaverse, it would be a bit outrageous to claim we know everything about its works, don’t you think?” Akechi tapped one clawed finger to his chin.

“And it’s not like all of the personas we know of are humanoid, either,” Ren added.

They didn’t have more time to converse though, as there was a sound of many steps and a bunch of new Shadows emerged from around the corner.

“Who- who are you?!” one of them shouted with a shaky voice, swinging its bat.

“The Phantom Thieves arrived to the battle!” Sophia exclaimed and threw herself into the fight all over again. And there wasn’t much the rest of them could do but follow.

It turned out that Sophia, even though pretty short and at first glance harmless, was actually quite strong. Although her movements betrayed lack of experience, she seemed to observe them, more experience fighters, and adapt really fast, not placing herself in unnecessary danger nor slowing them down. The four of them dealt with the bunch of Shadows in no time at all, though the physical fatigue was slowly becoming more apparent.

“Damn, Sophia, just what are you? You were super strong out there!” Ryuji asked, shaking his head in disbelief.

“I am Sophia, the good friend of people,” she answered seriously, making him shake his head even harder. “Is something the matter?” She leaned to the side in already familiar gesture, looking at them.

“Sophia-chan, those cubic things you used to fight, was that a Persona?” Akechi asked, smiling his tv smile at her.

“Persona? I don’t know what it is. That now was my weapon. It appeared when I tried to be a phantom thief,” she stated simply.

“You did well,” Ren said, not wanting the talk to transform into a thorough interrogation.

Sophia jumped happily in response. “I was useful!” She beamed.

“Let’s get going, we should be pretty close to the exit by now, I suppose,” Akechi said and started walking without waiting for their response.

As they moved forward and closer to the surface, it seemed like Akechi’s navigation sense was getting sharper and thanks to that they avoided a few more close encounters with the Shadows. They were also sneaking around more, steadily falling back into the rhythm they worked into their bodies all those months ago. It seemed like being a phantom thief was a bit similar to riding a bike in that sense. Though, Ren thought, Akechi probably wouldn’t agree, most likely snort in disbelief and shake his head instead. Not like he felt this kind of small talk would be comfortable to any of them right now though anyway.

The air between them wasn’t completely cleared up, it was apparent in the stiffness of their moves and too careful speech, purposely avoiding certain matters for now. Ren wished for it to be over already, so they can just leave all the weirdness behind and move forward in their… what even was their relationship? Were they still rivals? Accomplices? Friends? Even thing seemingly simple as that was left undefined for now. He pushed all of those thoughts away again, as with them the creeping fear threatened to emerge. The fear of all of this being just a dream, of waking up choking on his own tears like he did many times before.

He almost bumped into Ryuji’s back when the friend stopped suddenly. Ren looked up at him and then around, questioningly, and realized they somehow already arrived to what seemed to be their destination. Only one last staircase was separating them from the surface.

“The cognition is… weird, up there,” Akechi said and looked at Sophia, who furrowed her brows slightly and sniffed.

“I can feel it,” she said. “It’s some sort of… exit.”

“The exit? From the Metaverse to the real world?” Ren asked and tilted his head, then winced as the bump on the side of his head throbbed with dull pain. He almost forgot about that wound, as it didn’t bother him during the fights.

“Hm… hmm… it seems like that.” Sophia smiled and jumped, then tugged at Ryuji’s sleeve.

“Huh? Me?” Ryuji asked with confusion.

“Let’s check it out, Skeleton!”

“Ske- what? Name’s Skull! S-k-u-l!” he whined but followed her up anyway, the gentle guy he was.

Ren regarded them with a small smile. It seemed they unexpectedly gained a new ally, together with the access to the Metaverse. What was waiting for them from now on? Alice Hiiragi – or her Shadow – seemed to be the first clue to finding out the nature of the new threat Lavenza spoke about.

“Joker.” Akechi’s firm voice made him snap back to reality.

He was standing before him now, not terribly close, but not as far away either. Ren looked at him questioningly, then flinched with surprise when he felt a sudden, delicate touch to the side of his head. Akechi’s hand twitched as if he wanted to take it away at once, but he didn’t.

There was a soft glow at the corner of Ren’s vision and a gentle coolness started seeping onto his scalp. He couldn’t take his eyes off Akechi’s face, his knitted brows, eyes narrowed slightly behind the red visor, avoiding Ren’s gaze, and slight displeasure tugging at the corners of his lips.

“Quit staring, it’s just a healing item I picked up.” Ren didn’t dare comment that he could have just given it to him instead of using it on Ren like this.

“I have so many questions,” he said instead, quietly, and let his head lean slightly to the almost phantom touch.

He knew he shouldn’t. It was Akechi, after all, the boy with stiff boundaries, always slightly too cold, always a bit out of reach. Ren highly doubted anything changed during half a year they didn’t see each other. But, at the same time, when it came to Ren, it seemed like Akechi let him test and challenge all of those facts, sometimes rewarding him with revealing a glimpse of his true self. There was more he didn’t know about the other boy, regarding his life, his past, than he actually knew. But it didn’t matter at those times, once in a while, when the undeniable bond of mutual understanding rang strongly between them. And he could feel it under his skin, see it’s reflection in Akechi’s eyes, and he knew that it wasn’t something he only imagined. What they had was real, whatever it was. So he trusted his instinct and let himself challenge the other boy once again.

“Maybe keep a list, then,” Akechi sneered, with the tone of voice that seemed to be flat and disdainful at the same time. Ren wouldn’t be able to describe how much he missed that even if they paid him.

Akechi didn’t move his hand away, the look on his face didn’t betray the slightest tinge of discomfort. He was confident and unshakable even in a situation like this, that didn’t seem to match him at all. Ren felt a featherlight scratch on his scalp, now free of pain, free of even a memory of it. The used item dispersed completely into a healing mist and they both pretended it didn’t even as the only thing touching Ren’s head now was Akechi’s hand in a gauntlet, softly brushing through his curls.

Maybe Ren wasn’t the only one who needed a proof, physical touch in confirmation that it’s really happening, that their paths, against all odds, crossed once again. Maybe Akechi too, since who knows when, wished for something to anchor him back to reality. Maybe he also had things he regretted in or wanted from their relationship. And maybe his snarky comment was a green light for Ren, to try and find out about them.

“Oi, you guys, are you coming? We found the exit!” Ryuji’s voice came from the area upstairs and there was a sudden _absence_ at the side of Ren’s head and next moment Akechi was already turning on his heel and going up to the surface.

Ren took a breath, held it in for a few seconds before exhaling, and, once again in this long, long day, followed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Thank you for reading, leaving kudos and comments. 
> 
> Every time I read your kind comments, even if they are brief ones, I get so emotional and hyped, you can't even imagine T3T I will do my best to deliver you a story that's a lot of fun to read!!  
> This chapter was a bit shorter and had more action instead, but in the next one we slow down again, there will be some explaining, talking... and Goro confronting other PTs! ;)
> 
> See you next week :3


	4. Emergency meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [Me] 4:47 PM  
> Emergency meeting at Leblanc. We are having two unexpected guests. Prepare yourselves for everything.
> 
> Was what Ren sent in a group chat after a few moments of pondering, and Akechi rolled his eyes after reading the message over his arm like he was even allowed to do that.
> 
> “Dramatic,” he stated.
> 
> [Haru]  
> On my way. I packed my axe.

Ryuji convinced Sophia to go back with them through the weird swirling hole in reality that Ren would never touch and expect to get out alive of, if not for all previous experiences with the Metaverse. It didn’t seem much more eccentric than clicking an OK button on the supposed navigation app and basically teleporting to another world. If anything, it reminded him of some fantasy or sci-fi tunnels between dimensions and, really now, why read it when you can live it.

When they made it back, mysteriously reappearing under the Green Frog, but unnoticed by anyone, even though there were a lot of people out there – which probably had everything to do with the cognition and subconsciously convincing oneself that people don’t just pop out of nowhere – their barbeque equipment was, obviously, gone. But, Ren thought, exchanging it for Akechi’s presence wasn’t really such a bad deal, though his wallet would most likely disagree.

“Oh man, who would even steal it?” Ryuji scratched the back of his head and slumped in resignation.

“Maybe it didn’t get stolen,” said Ren the Optimist. “Maybe someone took it to the nearest koban or… some kind of lost and found point?”

“Well, maybe it was stupid of you to put such thing away in the first place,” Akechi said like it was _his_ barbeque equipment and he just got mercilessly robbed of the opportunity to eat his super expensive Kobe beef on it.

“Bro, look, it was heavy, okay?” Funny enough, Ryuji found it worthwhile to try and engage, taking on the role of the defendant.

“I thought you were supposed to be an athlete? Is even such a little thing too much for you?” Akechi went on like his life depended on it, and Ren just stood there and watched with amusement and a weird sting in his heart. It felt so _normal_ he was afraid if he blinked the image would just dissipate from before his eyes.

“Look, dude, even if we did take it with us, what would we do with it? Grill some Jack o’Lanters on it and pretend it’s Halloween?” Ryuji swiftly avoided even more personal turn of the conversation, and Ren was honestly curious of how the things were going to process from there on, but the loud _bling_ coming from his phone suddenly turned two slightly accusatory pairs of eyes on him. He took the phone out and unlocked to see what was the notification for.

“You have come back from the Jail. Thanks for your good work,” EMA informed him, almost cheerfully.

“…Jail?” Ryuji asked, furrowing his brows but Akechi didn’t seem surprised.

That was also the moment Ren realized they were forgetting about something… or someone.

“Where is Sophia?” he asked and both boys in front of him startled and looked around.

“H-huh? Wasn’t she with us? Now that I think about it…” Ryuji’s voice had a tinge of panic in it.

“I don’t see anyone resembling her around,” Akechi noted, narrowing his eyes slightly.

Ren honestly wanted to look around too, but it was hard to take his eyes off Akechi now that he was back. It didn’t look like those last few months did him anything wrong. His hair looked soft and healthy as always, eyes didn’t lose their sharpness, posture was confident as always. He was neatly dressed, white short-sleeved button-up and black slacks not bearing even one wrinkle, as if he just ironed them.

Akechi must have possessed some kind of superpower, because he caught Ren staring again. The difference was, he didn’t call him out on it this time, just raised his eyebrows and shot him that one predatory smirk which seemed to promise Ren if they ever find their barbeque equipment, he is going to be grilled on it first. Before Ren had the time to think up what to do with that, Ryuji’s voice tore through the air with the subtlety of a starting plane.

“SOPHIA!” he yelled suddenly, making Ren jump, Akechi wince and half hide his face by pinching the skin between his eyebrows, and at least twenty people around looked at them with palette of emotions written all over their faces, from interest to… was it a disgust? Well, it was summer, good sir, let the poor overworked high-schoolers disturb the public peace once a day.

For a second there was a silence, then another _bling_ came from Ren’s phone. He fished it out of his pocket and almost dropped it when his gaze met the two round, blinking eyes on the screen. He quickly unlocked it and called Akechi and Ryuji over. The cute icon floated on his home screen for a second then suddenly expanded and took a form similar to a voice call window.

“Hello, did you change your clothes?” Sophia asked from the screen.

“Sophia?!” Ryuji exclaimed, this time in a more quiet voice. “H-how did you get there?”

“After we stepped through the exit, I got thrown into the stream of light, so I followed Joker’s scent and ended up here, in his smartphone,” she explained, like it was a pretty obvious thing to do.

“Why the smartphone though?” Ren asked and heard Akechi make an _oh_ sound, like he just realized something. “Akechi?”

“Let me confirm my theory, are you perhaps some sort of a program?” Akechi’s hand went up to his chin in a familiar gesture. “For example… an artificial intelligence?”

Ren’s gaze darted back to Sophia’s face on his screen. When Akechi put it like this, it was pretty obvious. Unless she hacked his phone in a few seconds and was video calling him now from some kind of spacious, weird blue-walled room.

“That’s right, I’m an AI,” Sophia confirmed, thankfully perfectly self-aware.

“AI… that smart thing Futaba was talking about yesterday, right,” Ryuji asked unsurely.

“You should have told us sooner.” Ren shook his head. Well, that was actually explaining some things about their new companion.

“But you didn’t ask.”

“…fair point.”

“So are you going to live there now?” Akechi was back with practical questions.

“Yes, I can’t leave now.” She nodded, but didn’t go into details as of why. “It’s pretty small but it has everything I need. I can connect to the internet from here too. Skull, do you want to come visit?” It seemed the limit on serious talk has been reached as soon as it started. Akechi rolled his eyes and took his phone out to check something, while Ryuji sighed heavily.

“I don’t even have the energy to play along…” he said with miserable tone.

“It’s not like we can do much more right now,” Ren said and looked around. “We don’t need to stand around here too, let’s go back to Leblanc and contact others.” Ryuji nodded in agreement and Sophia on the screen turned back to the floating icon form, so he pocketed his phone. Akechi seemed to hesitate, looking between Ren and Ryuji like he was calculating something in his mind.

“Oh, right,” Ryuji exclaimed suddenly, cutting the weird silence. “Our equipment. I will go ask someone from the station service if they know anything about it. You guys wait here.” And before Ren had a chance to protest, his friend was already walking away.

It looked like his time alone with Akechi came a lot sooner than he expected, but he wasn’t prepared for it in the slightest. He sorted out the questions in his head, from least to most awkward to ask in a situation like theirs, and decided to go with the safest one, but when he turned back to look at his companion, the other boy wasn’t looking at him. Instead, his gaze was focused on something else, eyes narrowed in a slight displeasure. Ren followed his line of sight but didn’t notice anything special, just a few trees. He wondered what Akechi was looking at, did he notice some hidden camera or what? When he turned his gaze back to the boy himself, this time their eyes met.

“So…” Ren started, raising one hand to fiddle with his bangs.

“Not now,” Akechi cut him off and crossed his arms and Ren just _had_ to wonder if he was so easy to read? Or did Akechi practice some sort of mindreading while they didn’t see each other?

“Uh, okay, then…” he cleared his throat, feeling a bit like an idiot, which wasn’t particularly hard in detective’s presence, but made him feel somehow guilty too. Some rival he was, huh? Time to step up his game. “So, are you coming too? Since you wanted to meet, the message and all… I guess you knew about this,” he gestured at nothing in particular, “happening here, didn’t you?”

“Well, yes.” Akechi straightened up a bit. “I was planning to talk about it with you first and make sure that any eventual escapade into Jail was well prepared, but it doesn’t matter now.”

“Why didn’t you contact anyone else, though? Even without me, everyone was here, you just needed to-“ Akechi snorted amusedly, cutting him off.

“Oh, no, I’m not willing to make deals with just anyone. And don’t play dumb, Ren, we both know very well that your friends won’t do anything without your leadership.”

“You don’t know that, Akechi, things are quite different now that I’m not here, and in case of emergency I’m sure Makoto wouldn’t have the slightest problem with organizing something.”

“Niijima isn’t you,” Akechi said, like it explained everything and Ren started to wonder if it really did. 

Well, it wasn’t like he was wrong. Ren was sure that if there was a need for it, other Phantom Thieves would do just fine without him and Morgana, just like their group was okay in the early days in Kamoshida’s Palace. They were all a lot more experienced now, both regarding their individual skills and teamwork. But was it really the point here? Was it about weather they would be okay without Ren or not? What other reason could Akechi have for not contacting them about it first? Even if Makoto, for some reason, wouldn’t be able to lead the group, wasn’t Akechi another person capable enough to take charge? Just when he thought that, Ren realized where did he go wrong with all this and looked up at Akechi with surprise.

“You thought they wouldn’t cooperate with you,” he blurted out before thinking through if it was even a good idea.

“Well, that’s rather obvious. But I guess the fact it took you so long to figure that out only proves my point,” Akechi said lazily, tilting his head to the side and closing one eye.

“How so?”

“Only you are dumb enough to act like nothing ever happened. You truly didn’t change one bit, did you? Letting your brainless sentimentality and favorably biased opinions towards people you consider _close_ rule over your judgement. Forgive me for disappointing you, but even your friends don’t carry this sort of _angelic_ kindness,” he said, looking Ren in the eyes like he was challenging him.

Ren held his gaze for a moment, then sighed and closed his eyes. For a moment they were both silent, until Ren pulled his glasses up on the forehead and pinched the skin between his eyebrows, then sighed again.

“Is that your strategy for convincing me to let you in on the team? That’s not exactly a diplomatic way of doing things, you know. If you wanted to offend me, maybe it would be better to wait for _after_ I actually said my yes, hm?”

“As if you would really want to hear some sugar-coated bullshit from me,” Akechi parried with audibly sarcastic smile on his lips that wasn’t there when Ren opened his eyes again.

Well, Akechi did have a point in everything he was saying, it was undeniable. And it wasn’t like Ren could refuse at this point, could he? They both knew that if Akechi wanted in, it was the matter of unanimous decision of all of the Phantom Thieves and Ren was the person that could somehow push others towards voting on the outcome favorable for Akechi.

“How did you know I would even listen to you, huh?” Ren didn’t even know why he was asking. When he asked _himself_ that, it was pretty obvious, and Akechi already pointed out some things that proved he figured everything out. Maybe he just wanted him to say it out loud.

“You didn’t turn me down the first time, you didn’t the second one. Why would you do it now?” Akechi seemed really sure of himself and it was starting to slowly tick Ren off. He slid the glasses back onto his nose.

“Oh well, let’s see. Maybe because you had the audacity to play dead for a _little while_?” he answered, putting some more weight into last two words. Now that he thought about it, he had the right to be at least a bit mad about it, right?

The reply seemed to have thrown Akechi off a bit. Almost invisibly, but if anyone in the world could tell, it was Ren.

“Oh? I don’t remember ever signing any kind of pact with you, that required me to keep you updated about every little thing I do, Amamiya.” Akechi used his last name like it was an insult, and for a moment Ren wasn’t sure anymore what exactly were they both doing. Trying to piss each other off? Trying to make the other admit something? To cooperate? But then, Akechi said something else. “Besides, I’m not deaf or blind, I remember how you didn’t deny it when Maruki-“ he stopped abruptly, eyes widening slightly. Ren stared at him, dumbfounded and Akechi stared back, and they both just kept at it for a while with an awkward silence hanging between them, heavy with unfinished sentences and unspoken words.

It felt like Ren’s brain turned into a cotton candy suddenly, the letters swirling around, not letting him form any solid thought, and he was only able to feel and not think. He opened his mouth, wishing the words will just automatically form themselves out of habit if he did that, but even the softest sound didn’t leave it. Akechi was pursing his lips, not willing to speak more apparently, but also not trying to take back anything he said. Well, at least he wasn’t going to treat Ren like an idiot and bullshit him into making him think he heard – and understood – wrong.

The silence was becoming unbearable when their savior finally made his appearance.

“Yoo, guys, sorry for the wait,” Ryuji said cheerfully, strolling over with a box in his arms. “I have some good ne-,“ he stopped suddenly and looked at them, “news, woah, did something happen?” There was a hint of a worry in his voice.

“No, of course not.” Akechi flashed a smile at him and Ryuji winced slightly.

“Dude, don’t pull this crap on me, for real. No one’s gonna get fooled with that anymore, ‘kay?” he said and put the box on the ground next to them. “Well, anyways, I got our equipment back, are we going to the café now? What about you?” he directed the question to Akechi after Ren answered the previous one with a nod. He also realized Akechi didn’t answer when he asked him the same thing earlier. Well, their conversation did trail off a bit after all. They both looked up at him questioningly.

“…I guess there is no reason to put off the inevitable,” Akechi said after pretending to think about it for two seconds. Or maybe he really did have some doubts.

When Ryuji picked the equipment up and they all went for their subway line’s ticket gates, it suddenly occured to Ren that all that talk with Akechi just moments ago was really unnecessary, as it turned out the other boy’s way anyway. Or it was necessary for totally different reasons.

* * *

Their ride was a silent one, as they were tired from the heat and their unplanned Metaverse trip, but mostly because everyone had a lot on their minds. Ryuji tried to start a conversation one or two times, but when they died pretty fast, he just reminded Ren to text others.

**[Me] 4:47 PM**

_Emergency meeting at Leblanc. We are having two unexpected guests. Prepare yourselves for everything._

Was what Ren sent in a group chat after a few moments of pondering, and Akechi rolled his eyes after reading the message over his arm like he was even allowed to do that.

“Dramatic,” he stated.

“The expert would recognize that, huh,” Ren muttered and pocketed his phone, but quickly regretted the action as the device started bursting with incoming messages. He sighed and took it out again.

“Dude, seriously, there were better ways to write that,” Ryuji groaned and scratched his neck while looking at his own screen.

“You weren’t precise enough, Joker,” a small floating icon on Ren’s joined the lecturing.

“Was just lazy to go into details,” he sighed and skimmed through the flood of messages that popped up in the meantime.

**[Futaba] 4:47PM**

_??????_

**[Ann]  
** _^_

[ **Makoto** ]

_Ren, what happened? I’m on my way!_

[ **Haru** ]

_What’s going on, Ren-kun?_

[ **Ann** ]

_That didn’t sound good_

_did something happen to them?_

_m puttig on soes._

**[Yusuke]**

_May it be that the barbeque equipment broke?!_

_Me and Morgana are in the café already._

**[Futaba]**

_Inari………  
wait, I hope not??? =.=_

**[Haru]**

_Why would Ren-kun mention guests, though?  
Is it some kind of secret code perhaps?_

**[Ann]**

_oh nonono don’t say that I’m gonna freak out_

**[Futaba]**

_Ren’s viewing that but he’s not responding Imma hack his phone’s camera in case I can find out the perps!!!_

**[Haru]**

_On my way. I packed my axe._

Ren’s eyes almost popped out of their sockets at the madness his message started. He quickly typed a few messages.

**[Me] 4:50 PM**

_Guys_

_Guys it’s ok, don’t panic_

_Futaba no hacking_

_Haru don’t bring the axe_

**[Futaba]**

_Too late Ren I’m already checking out your cute nostrils from aesthetically lame perspective_

**[Me]**

_…_

**[Futaba]**

_Jk jk dw_

**[Yusuke]**

_What do you mean by aesthetically lame?  
Every perspective allows you to see things from different angles, and come closer to _

**[Futaba]**

_nooo I dun wanna hear about art shut up Inari_

**[Yusuke]**

_a better understanding of their true nature._

**[Makoto]**

_Ren, so you are both safe, yes?_

_I’m already on my way anyways._

**[Me]**

_Yeah sorry for that, uh_

_It’s better if we explain in person_

**[Ryuji]**

_Yeah guys but y’all better take some deep breaths_

**[Me]**

_Ryuji that’s not helping_

_But I guess you’re right_

**[Ann]**

_seriously guys you should just tell us…_

**[Ryuji]**

_Uh tbh I’m with Ren on that, better not_

**[Futaba]**

_rolling my eyes emoji_

**[Yusuke]**

_Why didn’t you just send an emoticon instead of writing this?_

_It would not only be faster, but more expressive as it is also a small, but nevertheless, a form of art!_

**[Futaba]**

_:)  
:|  
>:||||_

**[Yusuke]**

_???_

**[Haru]**

_Alright, Ren-kun, Ryuji-kun, we trust you! ^^_

“It was chaotic, but interesting,” Sophia commented, and her round icon floated towards the center of the screen when the conversation on the chat finally died down. “I’m not sure I understood much, but I think it was fun. But I didn’t think emoticons can be considered art, the information on the internet doesn’t have many matching results for both.”

“A lot of things about humans and the way they perceive their surroundings and things in the life that seem to be culturally coded already differs to each individual, Sophia-chan,” Akechi explained. “By the way, it’s inappropriate to read someone’s correspondence without getting their permission first.”

“Oh, sorry, Joker,” she said and the icon jumped up and down just like Sophia did in the Metaverse. He shook his head.

“It’s okay, besides, you weren’t the only one who did that.” He pointedly did _not_ turn his head around to look at Akechi.

Ren pocketed his phone, thinking briefly about how it feels to be an AI freeloading in a smartphone, and if Sophia gets into some sort of slumber when he blocks the phone and the screen blackens. Since it seemed like she was going to stick around for a while, he noted in his memory to ask her about that some time.

Then his thoughts wandered to the topic he was more or less consciously avoiding thinking about. He imagined going upstairs to his room at Leblanc with Ryuji next to him and Akechi behind them. How will others react? Ryuji seemed to take the boy’s sudden reappearance pretty well – awfully well, even. Is it going to help everyone else to accommodate to his presence too? Ren wondered if he is even able to predict how they will react at first. He didn’t have any heavy grudge against Akechi like Futaba or Haru did, and there was still a lot of things he only suspected but didn’t confirm about the other boy. They never had an opportunity to talk it out. If Akechi would even want to talk about it in the first place.

Was Ren’s view on him going to change at the reveal of whatever truths he was keeping hidden in his heart? Ridiculously enough, he thought it wouldn’t. He had a lot of time to think for himself and weigh many different options in his mind, to interpret his own feelings about every potential explanation. He was pretty sure even if Akechi turned out to be a cold-blooded murderer, there was something that almost physically kept him from being as angry or disgusted at the other boy as he felt towards his father. Or at any of the Phantom Thieves’ targets whatsoever. He was also pretty sure that it wasn’t pity, but his conclusions went as far as that.

The train swayed gently and then, just as he was going to put his weight on the other leg, it bumped on the rails, making him lose his balance for a second. He stumbled backwards a bit and only Akechi’s quick reflexes saved his face from meeting the back of Ren’s head in a close encounter. Well, there was this thing about their heights being really similar. Ren’s back met Akechi’s chest and two hands caught his forearms a second later, then pushed him to regain his balance. Well, that was embarrassing. With the corner of his eye he caught the glimpse of Ryuji the Traitor laughing into his hand.

“What are you doing, idiot,” Akechi grumbled, “you rode this train hundreds of times before, it always does this here.”

“Must have lost my touch those last few months,” Ren sighed and realized Akechi still didn’t move his hands, as if waiting for something. Then he realized Akechi didn’t have his gloves on, because, well, it was summer and he wasn’t working, so why would he? Was it the first time their bare skins touched? He felt his muscles stiffen and Akechi must have felt that too, because he took his hands away. What the hell just happened? He had absolutely no idea.

* * *

If Ren was going to be absolutely honest, he partially expected Akechi to hesitate before stepping into Leblanc. The moment he saw him getting through the door though, back straight, unwavering and confident as ever in his long strides, he couldn’t help but let a small smile appear on his face. That’s right, that was exactly who Goro Akechi was. When he decided to do something, he was going to see it through to the very end with a steel conviction.

Ryuji, who went in first, greeted the Boss, who was busying himself in the kitchen, then looked over his arm at Ren closing the door behind the three of them.

“I will… uh, I will go first and explain to them what happened? It’s gonna be a lot to take on at once, so you guys wait up for a sec, ok?” he said, then hurried upstairs with the package, not waiting for them to answer.

Sojiro looked up at them curiously, then his eyes landed on Akechi and he stilled. The boy’s eyes didn’t turn away while the two were looking at each other in silence, and only a sudden, slight stiffness in Akechi’s arms told Ren he’s either preparing himself for something or actually feeling a bit nervous.

For a few long moments the muffled but increasingly agitated voices coming from the room upstairs were the only source of the sound in the café. Just when Ren was starting to think he won’t stand it anymore, even if he wasn’t the one directly involved in… whatever was happening right now, Sojiro finally sighed and let his gaze wander towards Ren.

“I can’t say I get the situation, obviously, or that I know what’s going on through your head with this, but I trust you know what you are doing?” he said slowly, and somehow tiredly, like he just gotten ten years older.

Ren released the breath he didn’t even realize he was holding and nodded firmly, like the situation happening right now was his own well thought-through plan, running smoothly.

“Don’t think I’m letting you off so easily, though. When you two finish your business upstairs, get down here, you owe me some explanations.” Sojiro reached out and stirred the curry simmering in a pot with a ladle.

“Thanks, Boss,” Ren said for them both, and he truly felt thankful.

He didn’t really expect Sojiro to act so calmly about Akechi’s sudden reappearance. Boss knew the story behind Maruki’s reality, and, though not with all details, since he was refusing to listen to “all that psience stuff because it’s making him dizzy and he’s too old for that anyway”, he was aware of the role Akechi played in all this. Ren and Futaba decided to tell him as much as he was willing to listen to together, since it was the least they owed him for all the care and support shown to them. And, simply, it was good to have an adult to rely on at their side. There was no need to hide or lie around him and they knew if something happened, he would protect them and vice versa.

He realized he was smiling to himself when he met Akechi’s indifferent gaze and he quickly shifted his expression to a usual poker face.

“You think we should try going up?” he asked, listening to the voices raising their volumes upstairs. It seemed like Makoto, Ann and Ryuji arguing.

Before the other boy had a chance to answer though, there was a loud thud, like something heavy falling to the ground, followed by the silence. The next thing heard were the hurried footsteps of someone heading downstairs, and a few seconds later Ann showed up, her expression unreadable while she closed in on to them. She stopped in front of them and crossed her arms, waiting for Akechi to turn to face her, which he did without a word.

“So it’s really you, Akechi-kun,” she stated and something Ren recognized as worry softened her features. The other thieves upstairs remained quiet, and it felt like a whole place itself was holding in a breath.

“It is me, Takamaki-san.” It was the first thing Akechi said since entering the place, and a thought crossed Ren’s mind that it matched the café well – like he could easily become a part of it, just like the familiar red booths, coffee jars full of aromatic coffee beans and the gentle Sayuri hung up by the door.

Ann’s lips trembled, lashes fluttered with a tinge of something wet and sparkling, or maybe it was only a play of the lights and shadows that mislead Ren. There was a sound of another steps as someone else decided to go downstairs too.

“You’ve been alone all this time, weren’t you?” Ann barely whispered then cleared her throat and forced a smile on her face. “That’s not okay, Akechi-kun, you should have told us sooner that you were fine!” she beamed but it seemed pained. Ren saw her making this face before, when she sometimes spoke of Shiho while her situation was still unascertained. Ryuji got down the stairs and walked up to them, then after taking one look at Ann he hooked his arm around her in a comforting gesture.

“Man, it’s prolly something, uh, super complicated and you don’t wanna talk about it to anyone else but Ren or somethin’. But ya know…” He sighed. “When we thought you were gone for good and then Ren-Ren went back home, me and Ann, we talked sometimes about… you know…” Ryuji seemed like he lost the thought.

“What Ryuji is trying to say,” Ann picked up, “is that we talked about your circumstances, or at least what we know about them and… you will probably think it’s pity or something, but we both agreed that we regret not getting to know you more. So now, when you are actually here, it doesn’t change those thoughts, okay? We won’t judge anything about you without knowing the whole story ever again.” Her voice was soft and gentle but it held a certain firmness in it. A resolve, maybe. Ryuji nodded enthusiastically and took his arm away. Ren looked at their honest, shyly happy faces, and felt proud they are his friends.

Akechi still kept the indifferent look on his face but his lips were pursed a bit too tightly, like he was holding something back, be it words or emotions. Ren didn’t expect him to react strongly in the first place but was thankful the boy didn’t choose the usual ‘offensive comment and high and mighty smirk’ tactic.

Ann and Ryuji looked a bit like they completed some sort of mission, and Akechi could probably call their speech off as some sort of act towards reaching a state of self-satisfaction or calming the guilty conscience, but he didn’t. It seemed that he was actually letting the statement sink in and chose to give it a thoughtful consideration. Well, maybe the insulting attitude was becoming one towards Ren exclusive now.

When they all went upstairs, what greeted them was an uncomfortable silence. Futaba was sitting on Ren’s bed, her fingers flying over the keyboard of the laptop in a slightly shaky manner. Yusuke was sitting next to her on a chair Ren usually used when he worked at the desk, absentmindedly petting Morgana’s fur. The two of them seemed calmer than the girls. Haru and Makoto were seated on the old sofa, visibly tense. Haru’s expression was collected, but her gaze was set stubbornly on clenched fists she rested in her lap. Makoto’s hand was on Haru’s back, like she was literally trying to channel some kind of energy to her friend’s body. The younger Niijima was also the only one who directly faced the stairs and observed them climbing up, her accusatory and questioning gaze meeting Ren’s first, before moving to lock on Akechi’s silhouette.

Ann and Ryuji sat down quietly by the table, showing with their body language that they are leaving the room for the unavoidable conversation between the other Thieves and Akechi to happen. Akechi remained standing like he always did here before, when all of them were gathering up to plan the trips to Palaces and hold all the meetings related to the Metaverse. Ren decided to stand nearby too, in case things got violent, which he really hoped for not to happen, but which he couldn’t really call an impossible result. It’s been a while since he talked more to Haru and Makoto and he never confronted them – or honestly, anyone besides Morgana – about Akechi’s past actions. They all acted as his whole existence was forgotten after things with Maruki, then Ren’s detention, calmed down. At least it seemed they did in front of him, he thought, recalling what Ann and Ryuji said about talking of Akechi just few minutes ago.

It made Ren feel a bit left out, as if leaving Tokyo disconnected him from all truly important matters, but at the same time he was glad that others started relying on other friends inside the group too, not only on him.

Only after a few more silent seconds passed, disrupted solely by Futaba’s frantic keyboard typing, which, by the way, to Ren sounded like she just opened an empty document and hit the keys aimlessly to vent her stress, Ren realized maybe him remaining by Akechi’s side could be taken as making a statement. The thought passed through his mind that he didn’t really care.

“Okay,” Makoto spoke first, and it seemed like everyone sighed in relief, “what are you doing here, Akechi-kun?”

“I presume you know the answer already, Niijima-san.” Akechi crossed his arms, but rather than appearing defensive, it made him look relaxed, even lazily bored. His flat voice matched his posture. “I am here because of an investigation.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, this chapter I'm not too confident about - I know I have a tendency to write some super long monster sentences sometimes, so I tried to make them more readable while editing, I hope it worked out (☍﹏⁰)
> 
> We had some Akechi vs Ann&Ryuji confrontation this time, and I can tell you guys that the statement they made was heavily inspired by the Thieves Den conversation the two have about Akechi. I really like the thought of them being the most open and kind-hearted in the pack :3
> 
> Next week we will finally arrive at some explanations from Akechi and his confrontation with MakoHaru. Ren is a good guy that lets his individualist boyfr- rival deal with his own matters and only offers the emotional support (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧ 
> 
> The 5th chapter is really long, like 1,5x of the usual length. I'm thinking if I should post it in one update or two updates in the same week. Please let me know what you'd prefer!


	5. Explanations (part one)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “So how did you find out about the Metaverse? And the Jail?” he asked and suddenly everyone in the room appeared more focused, even Futaba stopped her typing and looked at Akechi expectantly.
> 
> “Well, there are certain benefits in keeping your eye on the latest trends,” he said.
> 
> “Oh right, like your dead food blog,” Futaba sounded like she was taking revenge and Ren couldn’t believe it was the first thing she said to Akechi today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! This time we are starting to get some explanations, but it's just a beginning, since the Thieves will need to investigate more.   
> I decided to split this chapter in two after all, in this part we get the continuation of the squad meeting, then a little MakoHaru (mostly Haru) vs Akechi confrontation.

Everyone turned to Akechi in shock, hearing the statement.

“Wh-what?” Ryuji’s mouth hung wide open.

“How is that possible?” Yusuke muttered under his breath, but loud enough for everyone to hear.

“A-Akechi-kun?” Ann turned around on her chair. “But you… you are…” She seemed at a loss of words.

Ren didn’t blame her. He himself could barely believe what he just heard. He expected… He didn’t know what he expected, but certainly not Akechi working on any investigations anymore.

“A murderer?” Akechi finished, tone negligent, an impish smirk curving his lips slightly up. Ann winced, she obviously didn’t mean _that_.

Ren really wished the conversation haven’t taken this particular turn so fast. It wasn’t what they needed to discuss here and now. Or was it? He didn’t really know anymore, but one thing he was sure of – he wasn’t going to allow this talk tumble down this mountainside.

“Guys, calm down,” he commanded with the most Joker-like voice he could muster after all this time, and now all pairs of eyes in the room were on him. He straightened up, pushing himself off the shelf he was leaning against.

“Ren, if you are going to say he had his reasons…” Makoto started, brows furrowed, but he cut her off by raising the palm of his hand.

“That’s an undeniable fact, isn’t it? But no, I wasn’t going to say that, Makoto.” He glanced briefly at Akechi, who was regarding him expressionlessly from his spot two steps away. “There is a ton of things we need to go through, everyone. And it’s not like a single one of them is something simple. I know it’s easier said than done, but nothing will get solved today anyways, so… don’t start anything unnecessary.” He raised his hand and fiddled with his bangs, suddenly realizing it’s been a while since he spoke so much to such audience. Morgana hopped off Yusuke’s lap and onto the table.

“Ren’s right,” he said. “I know everyone has a lot to say, but let’s leave the personal stuff away for now. I’m sure you all remember what happened the last time Akechi contacted us, and it seems like the situation is pretty dire right now too. Let’s listen to the full story first, then we will all decide what to do together, like we always did. The Phantom Thieves way.” Morgana looked around and everyone nodded in confirmation, some more hesitant than others, some not able to hide the small smiles at the mention of their group’s name.

“Akechi-kun, if you please…” Haru said with her usual gentleness in the voice and gestured for him to continue. He turned to look at her then sighed.

“Well, you don’t need to know the details, but I have been investigating Alice Hiiragi for the last few weeks already. There have been certain occurrences happening around her lately,” Akechi started explaining, bringing hand up to his chin, entering detective mode. “A lot of strange things usually can happen when idols and their fans are involved, and this particular case could normally be called off as something similar.”

“Normally? So there are some… special circumstances?” Makoto inquired and adjusted her position on the sofa.

“Exactly.” Akechi nodded shortly. “The seemingly plain occurrences, if looked upon more closely, form a certain pattern. The pattern, that from another perspective could be regarded as a modus operandi.”

“Whoa, whoa, wait a minute!” Ann shook her head in disbelief. “Why would you suspect someone like Alice to be a criminal in the first place?”

“It’s a part of detective’s job to doubt what others don’t, Takamaki-san,” he replied simply.

“Okay, so what would this MO be, exactly?” Ren rubbed the back of his neck then leaned against the shelf again. He didn’t hear about Alice before, but she really didn’t look like someone harmful. Well, at least at first glance, because now, after meeting her Shadow, he knew better.

“The thing about Hiiragi Alice, or to be precise, about her fans is, that some of them suddenly start spending tremendous amounts of money on her items, or even decide to leave their partners and confess their,” he smirked, “undying love for her.”

“Wait, but ain’t that normal? People go crazy about idols n’ stuff all the time,” Ryuji put his foot on the knee of the other leg and balanced his chair dangerously on it’s back legs. Ren sent a short prayer inside his mind that the chair won’t break down suddenly, then looked at Akechi, awaiting his answer.

“Well, yes, that’s the part of the reason not many people pay attention to it. The fact is, however, that all of those people were in happy, established relationships. Suddenly, they just lost interest in their partners and began to act in obsessive manner regarding Alice, even to the point of following her around and begging of her to marry them, and so on.”

“That’s… how it that her fault though? Shouldn’t you investigate those fans instead?” Ann’s face betrayed a genuine worry. “She is a cute girl, pretty influential on the social media. I read a few articles and interviews with her… She’s really working hard for her dreams. Isn’t it just some weird people getting ideas? No one can force another person to suddenly become like that… not even when knowing them personally.”

“A human being is truly made to become vulnerable in the face of what they consider a true beauty. You shouldn’t underestimate it,” Yusuke spoke up, nodding solemnly from his place by the window.

Futaba winced dramatically and threw something that looked like a half-eaten jagariko stick at him. It gained her an indignant look from the artist. Ren didn’t even try to guess if the cause of it was her easygoing attitude towards the art talk or the food wastage.

“And that’s exactly why detectives exist, Takamaki-san. Not every evidence is served on the silver plate for the world to see.” Akechi shifted his weight to the other leg and rested one hand on his waist. He was in his element and looking at him like this made Ren’s heart sting.

“So how did you find out about the Metaverse? And the Jail?” he asked and suddenly everyone in the room appeared more focused, even Futaba stopped her typing and looked at Akechi expectantly.

“Well, there are certain benefits in keeping your eye on the latest trends,” he said.

“Oh right, like your dead food blog,” Futaba sounded like she was taking revenge and Ren couldn’t believe it was the first thing she said to Akechi today. He might have snorted a little, because detective’s murderous gaze was set on him, not the girl.

“So you noticed the connection between Alice and EMA?” Makoto guessed and Akechi nodded.

“Yes, the application is becoming increasingly popular, and Alice doesn’t exactly try to hide the fact that she’s been giving away her friend keyword on the meet ups with the fans.”

“No one would connect the two…” Haru nodded.

“No one but someone who had a hunch and previous experience with unnatural occurrences,” Makoto agreed. “I must admit, I’m… honestly impressed.

“For real?” Ryuji’s chair’s legs hit the floor. “Damn dude, you figured all of this out alone and we entered the thing as a pure coincidence…”

Ren furrowed his brows at the statement. Ryuji was right. They were blind to what was happening, and if not for the pure coincidence, as he named it, they could have never discovered the Jail’s existence. For the first time he felt something like a guilt stirring in his stomach. He knew that something was going to happen, Lavenza warned him. But would he even know where to start searching for the clues? He highly doubted it. Similar pattern – the streak of coincidences, often fueled by personal grudges or experiences – was what marked their activity as the Phantom Thieves before.

“Why didn’t you contact us sooner?” Makoto asked sharply and crossed her arms. She was the spitting image of Sae like this. Ren doubted Akechi would present the same answer he did to him for the others, so he spoke instead.

“Actually, Akechi contacted me yesterday.”

“And you didn’t tell us?!”

“Uh, he told me someone contacted him,” Morgana defended him. “But there were no clues to the reason behind it and the sender was anonymous.”

Makoto sighed and put a hand to her forehead.

“Alright, sorry, Ren, it’s all… a lot to take in for today,” she apologized and he just shrugged in response, not taking the sudden outburst to heart anyway. He knew very well how much Makoto liked the things to be well organized and how the situation must have put her limits on the edge.

“Speaking of which,” Yusuke leaned over in his chair, “you mentioned bringing _two_ guests over, didn’t you, Ren? What happened with the other one?”

“Ah!” Ryuji exclaimed and almost fell off his wobbly chair. “We forgot about Sophia!”

“Sophia?” Ann tilted her head curiously.

“Who may that be?” Haru mimicked her gesture.

Ren, who already unlocked his phone went up to the table and turned the screen over to let Sophia see everyone and for her to be seen clearly to them.

“Ryuji’s new best friend. Sophia, say hello to the others,” Ren said, thinking how much this line reminded him of his first day at Shujin and Kawakami making him introduce himself.

“Ohh, so those are the other Phantom Thieves! So many of you! Hello!” Sophia’s face popped up on the screen. Haru and Makoto gasped in surprise.

“A person?!” Haru exclaimed softly, like she didn’t want to be rude but couldn’t hide her surprise.

“Wha-wha-what?” Futaba set her laptop aside a bit harshly and jumped to her feet, then ran up to Ren, almost gluing her face to the screen. It seemed like she forgot any thoughts she previously had on Akechi’s existence completely, as she passed him without even flinching. “What are you?” She asked, adjusting her glasses.

“I’m Sophia, a good friend of people,” Sophia introduced herself using the already familiar line. “Are you Joker’s friend?”

“J-j-joker?” Futaba suddenly moved away and hid behind Ann’s chair, like a shy kid hiding behind it’s parent. “W-why are y-you calling him by this name?” she stuttered. Ren raised one brow at the display. She was assuring him she got over most of her issues with people already, but he guessed she just didn’t want him to worry too much. “And n-nice to meet you!”

“Oh, right. Since we met in the Metaverse, we introduced ourselves by our nicknames,” Ren explained.

“That’s a clever move, Ren,” Morgana praised. “We don’t know if it’s the Metaverse as we knew it. So you met Sophia in this Jail thing, right? Are you video calling her now?” The cat waved his tail.

“No, no, guys, listen,” Ryuji answered instead. “Sophia is actually that thing Futaba talked about yesterday, the AI. Pretty sick, huh?” He grinned excitedly. Futaba opened her mouth and looked at Ren’s phone like she wanted to snatch it and dig all of its secrets out right away.

“Just like Skull is saying,” Sophia nodded and looked around the room. “So Joker, Skull and Crow aren’t your real names?”

“Nah, it’s the Phantom Thieves stuff, ya know! Cool, huh?”

“We should, perhaps, properly introduce ourselves, then,” Yusuke, who also joined the rest of them at the table now, suggested. “By the way, I can’t see it very well from the distance but your design… are those hearts? Magnificent. Futaba, you should try this hairstyle, too.”

Futaba stuck her tongue out at him and through the next few minutes they all introduced themselves to Sophia with both their real names and Metaverse nicknames, Ren passing his phone around so they could see each other properly while at it.

“Woah, Crow you were a celebrity?” Sophia’s eyes went wide open when Akechi introduced himself and Ren noticed the boy’s brow twitch, like he wasn’t pleased about the inquiry. “I searched all of your names on the internet but only Haru’s, Ann’s and yours had some results! But yours is weird.” She furrowed her brows. “I got a whole bunch of results that seemed to be put up pretty frequently before, but from a certain point in time they just stop like you just di…”

“That’s okay, Sophia-chan,” Akechi cut her off with a saccharine voice and smile that made some of the Thieves visibly uncomfortable. “There is no need for you to worry about it, okay?”

“Sure, Crow, if you say so!” she agreed with a happy smile, and Ren exchanged looks with Morgana.

“Sophia-chan, you are amazing!” Haru smiled at her. “I don’t know much about the AIs but you are really different from the EMA app.”

“That’s true,” Futaba nodded and emerged from behind Ann with more confidence than before, “you seem to be really well-made. Like… like you have the mind of your own! This shouldn’t be possible… A masterpiece! I… I want to see your source code… hehe,” she giggled, her eyes burning with enthusiasm.

“There it is, Futaba’s awakening,” Morgana joked and Futaba ruffled his fur for that.

“Sure, you can see it!” Sophia agreed easily. “Maybe you could help me too, I seem to be stuck inside this smartphone.” Futaba beamed and jumped a bit, then Sophia hummed some sort of melody.

After that, they explained to others everything that happened to them today in details. It was mostly Ren talking, with Ryuji and Akechi adding or correcting some things. After that, everyone listened to detective, Morgana and Sophia exchanging theories concerning the similarities of the Metaverse they knew from before and the new one, comparing the traits the Palaces and this new formation called ‘Jail’ had. The others joined in when EMA’s involvement came up, and agreed that in a way it must be a replacement for the Meta-Nav, though compared to it, it could be deleted without problems.

When asked about the Jail and how she got there, Sophia admitted again to having lost her memory, gaining a sympathetic look and words from Morgana. It seemed to cheer the girl up a bit, as reminiscing about the matter obviously made her mood worse before. Futaba offered to check if it’s not some sort of crash and that she could try and restore the lost memory, but Sophia gently refused as she already tried everything she could think of.

When Yusuke and Makoto tried to inquire more about the lost memory, treating it as the case of amnesia, it turned out the only thing Sophia remembered was the phrase she was repeating so often. It seemed that becoming the good friend of people was the purpose given to her by the unknown creator.

In the end, they agreed that the most logical course of action now will be to go into the Jail the next day, so everyone can take a look at it, and started to slowly disband. Futaba went home first, borrowing Ren’s phone and Morgana for the night, and Yusuke offered to walk her. The next ones to go were Ann and Ryuji, glancing worriedly between Akechi, who was now seated by the window, looking outside, and Makoto and Haru, who visibly loitered around, waiting for an opportunity to have a talk with a certain detective.

When only the four of them remained in the room, silent and unsure where to begin, Ren thought maybe he should actually go too, to give them more space.

“No, Ren-kun, you should stay,” Haru stopped him, reading his intention, when he was ready to take his first step downstairs. He hesitated for a moment but took the step anyway.

“I think we could actually use some coffee, what do you say?” he suggested. Makoto and Haru exchanged nervous looks. So they didn’t want to do it alone, huh. “Akechi, can you help me carry everything upstairs?” Ren called out to the boy by the window, and, to his surprise, Akechi stood up and silently followed him downstairs. Girls’ muted conversation could be heard while they were descending.

There were no customers downstairs, but the two used coffee cups sat by the sink, waiting to be washed. They must have spent a lot more time talking than Ren have thought, if even the customers appeared and went away in the meantime.

Sojiro was sitting on one of the stools by the counter and reading a newspaper, which he put down when the two of them came down.

“It doesn’t seem like you kids are done yet,” he commented, brows furrowed, and sighed. “It’s late, so I’m closing up for today. Our talk will have to wait, I guess, but remember, I’m not blind, I see you are planning something again.”

Ren smiled and nodded. There was no need to pretend.

“Thanks, Boss, I will take care of that.” He waved towards he dirty cups.

“You’d better, after slacking off all day,” the man grumbled and got up from his stool, preparing to leave, but he stopped at the door and turned towards Akechi, who was silently standing aside all this time. “And you…” he trailed off, gathering his thoughts for a moment, “I guess since you are here already, you are joining that merry band, huh?” Akechi shrugged, a pretty unusual gesture for him. “Listen,” Sojiro’s voice got more serious, his eyes narrowed, “don’t you dare get my kids in trouble,” he warned.

Akechi crossed his arms and smirked at Sojiro.

“I suppose there is a higher chance of _them_ getting _me_ in trouble,” he parried without missing a beat and, surprisingly, it made Sojiro laugh.

The man shook his head, reminded Ren to close up later and left the shop.

“So,” Akechi walked up to Ren and looked over his arm, as he started washing the cups, “I presume Okumura-san and Niijima-san won’t be as accepting of my presence as you and some of your other friends.”

He was looming over so close Ren could feel his breath on his neck. Or he was imagining things for gods know what reasons. He swallowed and focused on the cups.

“You can’t really blame them, can you?” he asked with the most neutral tone of voice he could muster.

“Well, I of course understand where does Okumura-san’s aversion may origin from, but Niijima-san, not so much.”

“It’s a matter of one’s own morals, Akechi.” Ren passed the clean but still wet cup to him and watched as the other boy hesitated for a moment, processing what does Ren want him to do with it, before he took it and grabbed a kitchen towel to wipe it dry. There was no stiffness to his movements, like he was used to such work.

“I figure I would come off as a hypocrite if I denied another the right to decide those matters.” Akechi set the dry cup aside and took another one from Ren to repeat the operation.

“As if you were never a hypocrite before,” Ren snorted as he rinsed the two saucers.

“It’s terribly different when I’m not the only one aware of the fact.” Came the reply with no trace of remorse whatsoever.

Akechi took the cups to the counter while Ren retrieved two more from one of the drawers, then turned to the coffee jars to decide which beans to use. The other boy patted his arm lightly and pointed at one specific container, making Ren bit his lip to hide a smile. Demanding as befitting a prince.

While he busied himself with making a coffee for the four of them, Akechi didn’t intend to just watch him work silently. Well, it has always been like this, hasn’t it?

“Did your coffee-making skills get better or worse since the last time we saw each other?” he pondered aloud, but somehow Ren felt like he wasn’t meant to answer. Apparently the other boy just got struck with some kind of chattering spell while they weren’t looking. “I honestly used to appreciate the calm atmosphere of this place, as well as the taste of the coffee and curry. It is indeed not quite easy to relax and have a moment with your own thoughts, while there is a constant need to answer to other people’s concerns.” Ren bit his tongue to resist the urge to point out that every time Akechi appeared here he was the one chatting up to both Boss and him.

“What about your apartment?” he asked instead, keeping his voice steady and uninterested, not wanting to let it betray his actual curiosity.

“Oh, it’s of course a good place, but it’s not the one where I’m able to gain new perspectives.”

“You always enjoyed keeping yourself busy with work, though, didn’t you?” Ren asked absentmindedly, observing the coffee dripping down from one glass container to another.

“Well, detective work is an enjoyable one in certain ways, and it lets me experience many things I used to think I may not have a chance to anymore, after…” he trailed off suddenly and Ren thought it’s the moment in which he either shifts the topic or lets the tense silence fall between them.

“You aren’t saying it all in the past tense,” Ren noted.

“… yes, I’m not.” Akechi looked at him with narrowed eyes. “I did mention before that I am indeed on an investigation, but it still surprises me how keen you are on the seemingly insignificant details. It’s not a trait many people possess naturally.”

Ren shrugged and started pouring the coffee to the cups.

“Maybe I’m that bored,” he said after a few moments, seeing how Akechi didn’t seem to want to monologue some more.

“We will continue this talk later,” detective said and got up from the stool he made himself comfortable on earlier. Ren couldn’t really tell from his voice if it was a promise or a threat. Maybe both. “Now, there is an aggravating matter requiring our attention.” Akechi then added, picking up two full cups on the saucers and made his way upstairs.

When Ren joined the three people in the attic, Haru and Makoto were already sipping their coffee. Both girls were sitting on the sofa, with Akechi facing them from another side of the table, one leg hooked over the other and arms crossed. Ren placed one cup before him and another a bit further, by his own place, before sitting down next to Akechi. He couldn’t shake off the feeling that this old, worn out table now became a war table at which a peace treaty is going to be discussed.

They all sipped their coffees for a long, silent minute, long enough for Ren to consider making some casual comment. Like, he could really use an electric fan here in this weather. But then, Haru elegantly placed her cup down on the saucer with a delicate sound.

“Akechi-kun,” she started with a calm but somewhat sharp voice, “I think you are already aware that I’m willing to cooperate with you…”

“Haru!” Makoto exclaimed, looking at her friend in shock, like it wasn’t what they had discussed at all when Ren and Akechi went downstairs, or even before. Well, maybe it really wasn’t. Haru gently placed her hand at her friend’s thigh to stop Makoto from talking more, but not looking at her, eyes locked on Akechi.

“However,” Haru said, “my previous statement remains unchanged, even after all this time, Akechi-kun. I’m not going to forgive you, ever. I can sympathize with you to some extent. It’s not like I am an angel myself, I knew very well what my actions may lead to, and yet decided to follow down this path. And, forgive me for saying that, but no matter your circumstances, you always had a choice too. You just didn’t try enough to make a different one, is what I think.” Ren didn’t see well from his place at the other side of the table, but it seemed like she gripped her hands into fists as she said that. “Some may say you were just a tool in someone’s hands, but I dare to disagree. You _did_ pick up your weapon and pointed it at us, at Ren-kun, at my father. You did that, instead of asking for help, when you already knew what we were doing.”

Akechi looked at her emotionlessly for a few seconds then picked up his cup and looked at the coffee inside. He motioned it with his hand so the liquid inside swirled gently. Ren wondered if he is purposely making the atmosphere more uncomfortable to all of them, or he just doesn’t care to that extent. When Akechi finally spoke up, his gaze didn’t leave from his coffee.

“I think, Okumura-san, and probably everyone else too, that you are misunderstanding something. The cognitives, the shadows, they are not the entirety of human psyche. They are only a part of it, that got detached because of its… let’s call it uniqueness. What you, as the Phantom Thieves, have been doing was basically beating that part up or talking it over to come to its senses, and thus making it return to the original personality. You have been literally forcing the original to accept the ugly parts of themselves and, following that, to admit their existence, judge them properly, too. On the other hand, what _I_ have been doing, was eliminating the cognitive manifestations of those unique parts, twisted desires. Both of our actions have taken a certain toll on our targets, so to speak, respectively less and more critical.” Akechi stopped for a moment, letting them digest new information. He took a sip of his coffee then turned his head towards Ren, who looked up surprisedly. The other boy wasn’t looking at him though, his gaze was focused on the outside of the window. “What I’m trying to say is,” he continued after a moment, “both the Phantom Thieves and me have been playing a game of sorts. You can recall the events of Sae-san’s casino, the parallel should make it easier to understand. Your game was a low stakes, low prize one, while mine has always been high risk high rewards.”

“…do you mean to say that killing a shadow in the metaverse didn’t actually… make the target die?” Makoto asked slowly. She was knitting her brows and Ren could almost see the cogs turning in her brain. He wasn’t sure what to think about detective comparing people’s fates to rewards, but didn’t pretend he got _everything_ that was going through his mind either. There was always something more. Like the most simple explanation – Akechi had no idea about the existence of the Treasures before. There was only as much he could do with his knowledge and own abilities.

“It was not a definite outcome, no.” Akechi nodded and refocused his gaze to the inside of the room. This time he met Ren’s eyes briefly. “Among those few incidents I was behind, there have been cases where the victims recovered. The deciding factors were usually, from what I gathered, the target’s mental and physical strength, as well as the circumstances the incident found them in. What killing a shadow causes directly is a psychological shock and trauma implemented on a subconscious, which can further result in physical response, like loss of consciousness or a heart attack.”

“So if you lost consciousness near the busy street…” Ren said softly and noticed understanding flash in Haru’s and Makoto’s eyes.

“Then one of the possible outcomes could, unfortunately, be a death in an accident,” Akechi agreed, finishing the sentence for him.

Suddenly, Haru got up and banged her fist on the table, making the cups rattle. Makoto and Ren looked at her angry expression in shock and surprise, but Akechi didn’t even flinch.

“You are not trying to excuse yourself, Akechi-kun!”, she said loudly, almost shouting, voice accusatory.

“There are no excuses I could make for myself in this situation, Okumura-san. And I certainly do not feel the need to find any in order to please you,” Akechi replied coldly and uncrossed his legs.

“Why explaining what you did to us if not to make use of it?” Haru persisted. “You are the type of person to do just that, aren’t you, Akechi-kun? Showing only some of your cards, making us believe it’s all you’ve got. Only feeding us half-truths for your own goals!” Makoto reached her hand to Haru but the girl gently but firmly pushed it away, not even looking at her friend. Her fiery gaze was focused on Akechi’s face, seeking explanations that couldn’t be found under his emotionless mask. “What do you want to accomplish? Do you want us to think you are just like us? Or that you are innocent? Do you seek our pity? I don’t understand!” Haru’s voice sounded somewhat higher, but she still didn’t allow herself to lose control and shout.

Ren wasn’t sure what he should do. On one hand, Haru was his friend and he understood really well where she was coming from, but on the other, he just couldn’t feel that kind of… hatred? Rejection? Towards Akechi. No matter how logical were the arguments, how illogical was his lack of strong reaction, he just wasn’t able to. At the same time, he knew Akechi wouldn’t really appreciate it if he tried to side with him or defend him now. He could just watch the scene in front of his eyes play out by itself.

“Okumura-san,” Akechi started and stood up slowly. Now they were both standing with eyes locked on each other, disregarding everything around them. There was only an old table between them, but it made the difference in their heights less obvious, “I’m not negotiating anything with you. If we are going to work together though, as you expressed your willingness to do so, I believe you will have to come to terms with what you heard today. You can think whatever you wish about me and my motivations, which I believe I’m not obligated to uncover to you. I presented to you some undeniable facts that you can piece together however you please.”

“You’ve killed my father,” Haru said, her eyes glimmering with something wet. “ _That_ is a fact.”

“I never intended to argue with that.”

“Do you not have anything to say to me? Why don’t you at least say you regret it?!” The knuckles of her curled hands turned white.

“I cannot say that, Okumura-san.” Akechi broke the eye contact first and straightened up. “I don’t regret my choices. After all, I can only be me,” he said and took off to go down the stairs. Ren blinked, as something in those words he couldn’t really place struck him as familiar.

“Akechi-kun!” Haru called out but he ignored her. There was a sound of the chime and Leblanc’s door shutting behind him a few moments later.

Ren and girls went silent for a moment, then Haru sat down with a long, exhausted sigh. She covered her face in hands and leaned to the side, putting most of her weight on Makoto, who hesitantly put her arm around the other girl after a slight hesitation.

“This is not how I both imagined and wanted it to go.” Came Haru’s quiet but stable voice eventually, and she took her hands away from her face. It didn’t look like she was crying. “I’m sorry, Ren-chan,” she added.

Ren rubbed the back of his neck and stood up, started gathering the empty cups.

“I don’t think you have anything to apologize for, Haru,” he said softly. “Everyone carves their own path and Akechi’s is… unconventional. He did you wrong and you have all the right to feel however you do towards it. No one, not even him, expects you to forgive him. And I think he… I don’t know, but I think he maybe doesn’t want to make things worse for you.”

“What do you mean by worse?” Makoto asked with a puzzled expression. Her hand was petting Haru’s back gently.

“I… I don’t know, maybe he’s just being an asshole but… but maybe he wants you to only hold simple emotions towards him, Haru. It’s easier to just be angry or hate someone than to have doubts about their true nature… and even towards your own feelings, being lost at how legitimate they are.” He looked down at the stack of saucers and cups in his hands. “I think he is the kind of person who can understand how frustrating and tiring it is to hold dichotomic feelings towards someone.”

To his surprise, Haru chuckled lightly. He looked at her questioningly. She smiled and sat up straight, a new light appeared in her eyes.

“You seem to understand Akechi-kun pretty well, Ren-chan,” she said, startling him a bit.

“I’m only guessing…” he mumbled, earning himself another laugh from her.

“I think it’s time for us to take our leave, don’t you think, Mako-chan?” Haru stood up and reached towards the wobbly cup pyramid to take two from him.

Makoto sighed and shook her head, then stood up, smoothing down her clothes habitually.

“Really… a lot happened today,” she said. “I think everyone deserves to get some rest and… some thinking time, too. It’s been pretty chaotic, but I think we managed to plan at least the most necessary things. The Palace… I mean, the Jail trip tomorrow…”

“Mako-chan,” Haru shushed her with pretended strictness in the voice. “You said everyone deserves rest and it applies to you, too. We will figure it all out together, like we always do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I will post the part two in a few days, but since I may actually add some things in relation to the unused rehab center, I can't say now when exactly. If it takes up to one week I'm sorry! But the whole scene will be Akechi and Ren talking about what the former has been up to till now... I'm pretty proud of it so I think it's worth the wait! :>


	6. Explanations (part two)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “The great leader of the Phantom Thieves of hearts,” Akechi said, unhurriedly and mockingly. “Should you really say such things? You seem to enjoy the mention of those vile acts a bit too much, don’t you?”
> 
> Ren leaned in a bit closer, instinctively, like if Akechi was the black hole pulling him in regardless of his will. Their faces were close enough now that he could feel detective’s steady, warm breath on his cheek.
> 
> “I was never a knight in the shining armor type of hero."

They went downstairs together and Ren walked the girls to the end of the alley. He wanted to go with them all the way to the station, but they insisted on him not leaving the café without proper care for too long, and he finally conceded.

The night was hot, but the humidity subsided a little compared to the hell on earth that could be experienced during the day. Some of the cicadas could still be heard, hidden among the branches of rare in the neighborhood trees.

Ren strolled slowly towards Leblanc, trying to not relieve the events of the day. He was totally beat and occupying his mind with more thinking would exhaust him totally. He turned his head to Morgana in search for distraction then he remembered the cat wasn’t with him tonight. He sighed and crouched down by the entrance, where Futaba usually did the same. His hand wandered to the pocket of his trousers but, once again, he remembered too late that his phone was confiscated for the night too. The frustrated groan left his lips as he ruffled his hair. What a day.

“What a miserable sight,” said someone standing over him. The voice surprised him so much he lost his balance and landed bottom down on the ground.

He blinked at the tall figure towering over him, annoyingly confident, and readjusted his glasses.

“Akechi? I thought you made your dramatical exit for the day already.”

Detective snorted lightly and offered him a hand, but Ren ignored it and got up by himself.

“So, did you forget something, or…?” he asked, patting his pants to get the dust off.

“I believe I told you before. We have the talk to finish,” Akechi answered simply and let himself back into the café. Ren sighed heavily and followed him inside, then upstairs.

“I’m like, super tired,” he groaned halfway up but it didn’t seem to make the other boy change his mind.

The truth was, it wasn’t that he didn’t want to talk to Akechi. He just suddenly realized they were truly alone for the first time today, and it made him remember things he wanted to but shouldn’t say. Feelings he had, but couldn’t convey into words easily. However, he was well aware that some explanations should be made and the conversation was unavoidable. Not that he had anything to say in the matter either, considering Akechi’s I’m-making-myself-at-home attitude. For a moment they just stood in the room and Ren forced himself not to shuffle his feet.

“It’s as obstinately dirty as ever,” Akechi commented like anyone even asked his opinion.

“Well, I’m terribly sorry, my prince, but this lowly servant has been away for months,” Ren scoffed and pushed his hands into pants’ pockets.

“Hmm…” Akechi mused, ignoring Ren’s words, “I was wondering if it’s possible to get outside from here,” he said and strolled over to the window, then leaned outside.

There was a sort of roof-like surface outside of it indeed, but it’s sole user, as far as Ren knew, was Morgana.

“Do you want to, uh, parkour your way out of here if my humble self makes you too bored?” Ren asked and stepped a bit closer, catching a glimpse of Akechi’s bare nape, when his hair parted there from him leaning out the window frame. Ren blinked and looked somewhere else, thinking the attic was somewhat hotter than he remembered.

“Oh, I doubt you would, though.” The whole of Akechi was back in the room.

“We can get out there if you want.” Ren gestured at the window. “Just let me grab something for us to sit down on.”

By the time he finished his sentence, Akechi already climbed outside and Ren couldn’t help but recall a certain thought he had sometimes when hanging out with the detective last year. Akechi always had his obligations with work, expectations to meet and image to uphold. Similarly, Ren needed to be reliable and thoughtful of others, well-organized all the time as the leader of the Thieves. But when it was just the two of them, Akechi seemed to relax significantly, which made Ren do the same. Sometimes the things they did together seemed almost childish, like the countless small competitions either of them suggested at different occasions. Having a rival in Akechi was an amazingly fun experience and it possessed a kind of dynamic none of his other relationships did.

He grabbed a pillow and a blanket from the bed and scrambled out through the window. Even with the socks on, he could still feel the warmth the tiles emitted after being heated up by the sun all day. The roof was most probably very dirty, but he tried to not think about it as he threw the blanket at Akechi and dropped the pillow by his own feet to sit down on.

When they made themselves as comfortable as possible, Ren’s gaze drifted towards Akechi again. The other boy sat with arms loosely hooked around his knees and stared at the sea of the buildings, embraced by darkness in some places fought off in the favor of electric lights, flowing gently from the street lamps or unsleeping houses.

The night was never completely dark in Tokyo, but the nearby buildings casted some deeper shadows around. They played with the light in the strangest ways, making Akechi’s face become mostly covered, with his back facing the room, but his eyes seemed to glisten, challenging the stars in the little contest of brightness and beauty.

Akechi, of course, caught him staring.

“What are you thinking about?” he asked and his voice seemed softer and more gentle in Ren’s ears now, on this rooftop, beneath the indigo sky.

“I think Haru didn’t finish her talk with you yet,” Ren lied and Akechi rolled his eyes.

“I know. She was testing me but if I let her go on we wouldn’t finish until tomorrow. There will be different occasions may time allow.” He went silent for a second. “But that’s not what I meant. Something has been on your mind since… before. Answer honsetly.”

Ren rolled the question around in his head again, while slowly breathing in the warm but fresh night air. There was a lot on his mind, but as Akechi said, one particular thought was pushing its way towards the front line for the whole day. And he felt like it was finally a good moment to voice it. Strangely, when he opened his mouth, his throat tightened and his eyes stung a bit, like a sand got into them.

“You are nineteen,” he stated finally, softer than what he was aiming for, and wondered if Akechi even heard his reply.

It became apparent that he did, though, as his eyes widened in surprise for a moment. Then, he opened his mouth as if to say something, but he never did, closing it again and shifting his head to face away from Ren.

There seemed to be a slight shudder to his arms and Ren looked away too, some unnamed feeling crushing his chest from the inside.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, until finally Akechi took in a long breath and cleared his throat.

“I suppose you may be somewhat confused as of the reason why I’m here, alive, in the first place,” he started, not addressing Ren’s words. “I don’t have all of the answers myself yet and it’s possible, to a certain degree, that some of the questions will remain unanswered, just like that. For one though, it’s pretty obvious now that Maruki played us to some extent, his lousy attempt at manipulation. And the threat to my life was indeed a bullshit.”

Ren smirked at Akechi’s choice of words. He was probably the only one who could pull off using ‘indeed’ and ‘bullshit’ next to each other in one sentence and still sound serious.

“We _did_ trust him with it though, at the time. Don’t tell me you didn’t.” Ren adjusted his position slightly. “Was it that easy for you to believe my greatest wish was to bring you back and, how did Maruki word it? Start over?”

If Ren was completely honest, his heart shouldn’t have started beating a tad too fast while waiting for the reply.

“ _You_ tell me, Ren,” Akechi slightly tilted his head to look at him, “was it so easy for _you_ to believe?” he asked back instead.

But maybe, in a sense, it was a reply. Because yes, Ren didn’t doubt the idea for a second back then. And if the same situation was happening right now, he would probably believe it again.

He didn’t know what to say but thought it rude to just leave the question hanging, so he nodded instead. Akechi hummed amusedly.

Suddenly, Ren remembered something. He reached into his pocket, retrieving the single black leather glove.

“I, uh, held on to this,” he said and showed the thing to the other boy.

For a moment Akechi looked at it questioningly, then reached out to take it from him. His fingertips tickled the inside of Ren’s palm and the sensation of this featherlight touch remained even after they parted, almost making him want to scratch at the skin.

The look of surprise on Akechi’s face as he recognized the glove was so genuine and honest it felt like a sudden breeze after windless day. Ren never denied any of the parts of Akechi the boy showed to him, be it his princely act or stone cold impassiveness. But sometimes, some of his reactions felt more _spontaneous_ , probably coming as a surprise to them both.

Detective squeezed the glove in his hand and brought the fist up to his mouth, then _chuckled_ lightly into his knuckles.

Ren tried to hold himself together.

Was Akechi… happy about it?

“You are such a sentimental fool,” Akechi said with something nearly resembling fondness and opened his eyes, the two shining rubies. “I can’t believe you kept that old thing. It doesn’t really serve it’s purpose if your opponent is no longer there.”

“Well…” Ren fiddled with his bangs, “You are here, aren’t you. And a promise is a promise. We didn’t fulfill that one yet, so I figured I’d just wait a bit. Till you are ready.”

“I,” Akechi said, dead serious, the tone of his voice making Ren look up at him, “am _always_ ready to take you on. Are you ready to lose miserably, Ren?”

“I’m not going to lose to you in anything, Akechi.” Ren smirked in response and wondered if their game was even about winning or losing in the first place or maybe, just maybe, a means to assure they were worthy of standing by the side of one another.

Akechi seemed pleased with the answer as he returned the devilish smirk and with it, a glove, which Ren accepted back like a treasure.

“You can keep it, then, until our rematch. Don’t lose it though, I don’t keep a bunch of those to throw at you every single time.”

“I sure hope you don’t throw them at others either,” Ren’s mouth slipped and he thought it was a terribly stupid comment. Akechi probably did too, as he only rolled eyes at him in response. Ren quickly thought of something better to say. “I’ve decided to hold on to the promise, wishing that we meet again somehow but… what _were_ you actually doing all this time?”

Akechi stayed silent for a while, probably gathering his thoughts. It didn’t seem like he didn’t want to tell Ren the truth, like he did with the others. On the contrary, it seemed almost like he was waiting for the occasion to do so.

“You should make yourself comfortable, it’s a pretty long story,” he said then adjusted the blanket and laid down on the tiles, eyes locked at the dark sky above.

Ren blinked at the sight and wondered if he fell asleep and didn’t notice. Did he ever see Akechi laying down comfortably like this before? No. Would he be able to imagine it if he didn’t see it? No, it was strangely vulnerable of him, after all. And why was Ren even thinking so hard about such thing?

He shook his head and laid down too, instantly feeling the fatigue from today’s adventures hit him twofold. The roof was just long enough for them to do that, someone taller would probably have their feet dangling off the edge.

“I’m gonna fall asleep if you don’t keep it interesting,” Ren warned, then furrowed his brows. “Actually, I’m so tired I may do that despite it being interesting.”

When he looked up at the sky, the sudden thought hit him that he never did that before here, the planetarium didn’t really count. The sky above Tokyo wasn’t the clearest, but to his surprise a few lone bright spots were perfectly bright and visible. Nothing outstanding compared to the countryside, but still _something_.

“Do you remember that day in January,” Akechi picked up, “when I told you that I was let go freely from the interrogation?”

And how could Ren ever forget his surprise when the detective came to Leblanc like nothing ever happened, took the room in with slightly narrowed eyes, then simply told him to follow. It was like together with him the hope of sanity returned to Ren’s… well, Maruki’s, as they learned later, world. He didn’t tell him that, though, only nodded in response, hoping the other boy caught it with the corner of his eye, as he still didn’t look his way.

“It turned out,” Akechi continued, “that this weird occurrence was only partially the effect of Actualization. And so, when the reality returned to it’s proper state, my release did not come undone. As for the reason behind it, the people who interrogated me have been bribed.” The disapproval in his voice was apparent. “I cannot say it didn’t turn out for the better in the end. But at the time, to me whose trust in the morals of the police department was already considerably stretched, it was somewhat of a blow, that made the said trust disappear completely. As for the ones behind it… It were, ironically, Shido’s people,” he sneered.

Ren rolled his head to the side and looked at Akechi in shock. For some reason he was sure that Shido’s people would forget about detective or at least leave him alone. The corner of Akechi’s lips curled up in a sharp smirk.

“Apparently, the change of heart the Phantom Thieves induced made Shido spill a lot of his collaborators’ names, but at the same time _some_ of the cases, like my involvement, didn’t ever see the light of the day. I’m not sure about the reason behind it, however I can speculate it has something to do with the fact that he believed I’m dead.”

“Anyways, what happened was, in _this_ version of reality I have been taken out of the interrogation by his underlings and placed under their observation and influences. I’ve been made to act like I’ve been indisposed for some time but recovered. They forced me to behave normally, like nothing ever happened. They even pulled some strings with the school and I actually graduated high school without further problems. The only thing that changed was that I got… well, fired from my job. For a while.”

“But you are back now?” Ren asked, because he needed to do something to fight against the feeling of sleepiness slowly growing in him. He really didn’t want to just drift away now, when the other boy was finally _here_ , alive and well. And alone with him.

“I will get to that.” Akechi nodded and outstretched his hand, like he was trying to grab the darkness above them. He stayed like this for a few seconds, then laid it back on the roof.

“Oh,” Ren suddenly remembered. “So it really was you back then.” The months of thinking about possible explanations to Akechi being alive, of presenting his ideas to skeptical Morgana – it wasn’t just holding on to a trick his mind played on him. He wasn’t wrong all along.

This time Akechi was the one who turned his head to look at him in surprise. “What are you talking about?”

“I… well, on the day when I was going back to my hometown, I thought I saw you on the platform. Escorted…? By some men in suits,” Ren explained. “I was honestly wondering if maybe I imagined things though, and there was no one to confirm it either, so. I wasn’t sure.”

Akechi hummed thoughtfully and looked back at the sky. “It’s not impossible, but for such a coincidence to happen…”

“Well, is it weirder than existence of the cognitive world, talking cats, and powers to alter reality?” Ren smiled.

“I suppose not,” Akechi chuckled lightly, but then grew serious again. “You may be wondering why I put up with that charade Shido’s people forced onto me, especially after… well, declaring strongly I won’t let anyone control me” he stated more than asked. “First, at the beginning they were too busy to pay me much attention, trying to get Shido out of the prison and keep you in it instead and I decided to observe the events while laying low for a while. Their manipulations didn’t survive what your friends did for you, though. Which, by the way, was unexpectedly effective, for you were not there to lead them through it.”

Ren rolled his eyes. “You give them too little credit.”

Akechi ignored the statement. “When the things finally calmed down and they ran out of ideas, they finally approached me directly for information. It seemed almost like they were so focused on normal solutions all the time that they forgot about my abilities. I saw my chance in this, and got rid of them.”

“You… you got rid of them like… uh…” Ren couldn’t force himself to ask that question for some reason, but it seemed like Akechi caught up with his train of thoughts right away.

“I didn’t _kill_ them,” he snorted, like it was something that could actually _be_ a laughable idea, “I stroke a deal. I calculated it as the most efficient method to approach the matter and I did have a lot of time to think about it.”

“I guess you were somehow the one to dictate conditions, weren’t you?” Ren asked. He rolled to the side and propped his cheek on one hand to have a better view on the detective.

Listening to his story was engaging and he felt some of the sleepiness leave him.

He didn’t think it would, but in the limited space the movement brought him considerably closer to Akechi. Close enough to feel a bit awkward, as if he crossed the boundary of their personal spaces. He honestly expected Akechi to react by pushing him to roll off the roof in response, but strangely the other boy didn’t seem to mind, so Ren let himself relax a bit.

“Obviously,” Akechi confirmed with self-satisfaction not too well-hidden from his voice. “I passed them some bullshit reasoning to whatever happened and convinced them of a few things, including the fact that they should stop interfering with my life, as it lies in my ability to get rid of them, like I did with Shido’s and Okumura’s targets.”

“But the Metaverse was gone!” Ren knitted his brows.

“Well, my dear Watson,” Akechi turned his head to him again with devilish grin blooming on his face, “ _they_ didn’t know that.”

Ren looked at him with surprise for a second then snorted and rolled onto his back, laughing heartily, probably a lot louder than he should, being outside at this hour. This absolute, cunning, tricky bastard. He took a breath and returned to his earlier position, feeling more alive than ever.

“You flagitious liar,” he told him, grinning widely. “You should sometimes take a break from being so unbelievably stunning, or the consequences will meet you in a dead end.”

Akechi snorted and adjusted his position slightly, propping his upper body up on elbows.

“So you think I’m stunning? Isn’t trickery just a sort of trait that’s the most detestable in the eyes of your company?” They locked eyes as he looked down at Ren with this sort of blatant confidence only he in the whole world seemed to possess. He tilted his head to the side, somewhat between thoughtfully and playfully, not breaking the eye contact for even a second.

To Ren it felt like he was putting on a show, but since he was its sole spectator it overwhelmed him, and any other words or thoughts he could have had got stuck in his throat together with his breath. He could only smirk in response, putting the last of his dying braincells into effort of stopping himself from crossing the fragile line between the two of them even more.

Akechi smiled back lazily, the smirk at the same time sweet and dangerous, and Ren’s heart either skipped a few beats or stopped completely, he wasn’t even sure about that at this point.

“The great leader of the Phantom Thieves of hearts,” Akechi said, unhurriedly and mockingly. “Should you really say such things? You seem to enjoy the mention of those vile acts a bit too much, don’t you?”

Regardless of his earlier effort Ren leaned in a bit closer, instinctively, like if Akechi was the black hole pulling him in regardless of his will. Their faces were close enough now for him to feel detective’s steady, warm breath on his cheek.

“I was never a knight in the shining armor type of hero,” Ren said as his eyes wandered on Akechi’s face, taking in the sight of his long eyelashes casting gentle shadows on the cheekbones, slightly narrowed eyes, glimmering in the half-darkness. The soft locks of hair framing incredibly well-proportioned face. The tip of his pretty nose. He wondered briefly if Akechi notices the same things about him right now, and if it’s supposed to feel weirder and less natural. “You said it yourself, I’m the Phantom Thief.”

“And what do you steal, oh Phantom Thief, when the Metaverse is no longer as it was?” Akechi’s brow arched up provocatively, like he was trying to pick a fight, but Ren felt that he lost it long ago already, before it even started.

“Still hearts,” he answered simply and let himself leer.

“Are you planning to take mine too?” Akechi’s smile was beguiling as he asked.

Suddenly, as struck with the lightning, Ren realized a few things at once.

First, they were somehow both leaning in closer and closer and now their faces were merely inches away.

Second, they were _flirting_. Pretty boldly. It blew his mind but they were, undeniably, persistently, flirting, and it was nothing else but _dangerous_.

Third, it seemed like it wasn’t _only_ _Ren’s_ initiative and the fact utterly horrified him.

He quickly pulled away and laughed, hoping it didn’t sound overly unnatural. Their intense momentum broke and Akechi laid down again, still smiling slightly.

“You can put the request on the phan-site and wait to see what happens,” Ren said lightly, trying to avoid the atmosphere between them becoming unbearably awkward. It seemed like he didn’t have to worry about it though. For some reason, no matter what they did, things were never awkward with Akechi and him.

“That’s a stupidly inefficient way to strike a deal, especially when it seems we are going to be playing in one team again for a while,” Akechi noted.

“Speaking of which,” Ren said, feeling his heart and mind going back to normal _very_ slowly, “how are you even working on this case in the first place?” he repeated the question previously unanswered in the presence of another Thieves.

“Hmm…” Akechi mused. “The full story would have to wait for another opportunity, but I suppose there is no harm in providing you with some insight.”

“I’ve met someone. A certain policeman who got transferred to Tokyo a few months ago. I think we’ve met for the first time around April, when I was trying to get my job back, and then later at the… It was… well, the circumstances aren’t important,” he said it a bit too hurriedly, but Ren was already feeling himself slowly drifting away after the sudden adrenaline rush, “Anyways, what happened is we found a common language and he took me in as his assistant for the meantime. He doesn’t want to let me do this on my own for now, because of certain reasons, and he even forced me to go to _that place_ , saying he will think about it when I’m back. Hm, I think I’m talking too much about this, you have that annoying effect, you know?”

Ren wanted to answer but only managed to hum affirmatively as the sleep began to take him. Akechi didn’t seem to mind, continuing his monologue: “His older brother is apparently someone of high position in the police. I wonder if it would be possible to make use of this connection. Not everyone has a chance like this, look at Sae-san, for example. She needed to strive so much on her career path. It seems like connections are truly everything when it comes to business like this, don’t you agree, Ren? Ren…? Amamiya?” Akechi nagged, but Ren already fell asleep and only echo of detective’s words lingering in his dreams and memory of his face overwhelmed everything else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it did take almost a whole week to update, but I must say, during editing this half of the chapter gained at least 400-500 new words haha... It's... It's around 4300 now I think xD  
> I sorted out some things regarding Akechi's timeline thanks to it too, so it shouldn't feel weird in the future (I hope).
> 
> I won't update the 6th chapter tomorrow, I will next week around the usual time, since this one turned out to be an almost full-length chapter.  
> My Word document says I hit 50k words on this fic (with 8 chapters in total right now) and honestly I'm a bit overwhelmed with the fact that I managed to write so much! I guess I can allow myself to be a bit proud of that TwT  
> I'm sorry if the pacing feels a bit unhurried? I personally like it since I'm taking advantage of the blank spots in the game to fill them in with bonding/interactions. I suppose though, when the business with Jails will start full-on, the story will also speed up a bit in terms of action/visible progress.
> 
> Next week: The Phantom Thieves go to take a look at the Jail in full squad and start their investigation.


	7. Investigation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Joker?” Sophia’s voice made him snap back to reality. “I thought it’s impossible for humans, but you have entered a standby mode. I was about to call someone to reboot you.”
> 
> “Thanks, Sophia,” he said and looked up at the others, gathered up in two small groups, both discussing something.
> 
> “It’s okay, Joker, I’m here to help.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone, thank you SO MUCH for the 100+ kudos. I've got so emotional over it I decided to do something as a thank you, and drew this small thing:  
> https://twitter.com/Mara_dine/status/1297689898065985537?s=20  
> It can be treated as the Alice's Jail arc poster for this fic, I guess TwT I hope you like it. Thank you again for the kudos and comments, they give me life and a huge boost to continue writing!

Ren dreamed of Akechi talking to the silver-furred shiba inu as if they were holding a perfectly normal conversation.

What woke him up was the hot touch of the daybreak rays on his face, pain of the roof tiles digging into his back, and the scent of Akechi from right under his cheek. He grunted and hugged the blanket, burying his face in it. It smelled heavenly – warm, somewhat leathery and wood-like, like the new furniture, with a frail fragrance of cologne, bearing a trace of something piney in it.

It took his cloudy with sleepiness brain a moment to realize that he was probably acting creepy, and the thought woke him up entirely. He remembered the events of the previous day, then evening, and how he must have fallen asleep on the roof. He casted the blanket away and looked around, but there was no sign of Akechi anywhere, he must have gone home after Ren dozed off. 

Ren picked up the pillow and the blanket, then scrambled up and inside the room. He couldn’t check the time, but it seemed like it was still quite early in the morning, and no sounds seemed to be coming from the café.

Since he was already awake, he decided to start getting ready for the day. There was a short note left for him on the desk, characters written with neat and precise strokes, and the key to the café, next to the piece of paper.

 _You forgot to close up, moron._ \- said the message, and Ren wondered how the hell did Akechi manage to close the café from the inside and leave anyways. Did he teleport, or what?

Ren barely managed to put on some clothes when the familiar jingle announced someone’s arrival to the café.

“Get up, pretty boy!” Futaba yelled from downstairs. “Breakfast delievery!”

A moment later Morgana appeared in the room. “Prepare yourself mentally,” he warned with conspiratorially low tone, “she said breakfast, but what she really meant is cup noodles and a few croissants.” He looked around and added, wrinkling nose: “And close that window already, there is another heat wave prognosis for today.”

In the kitchen, Futaba was boiling water for the instant noodles. On the table of the booth closest to the stairs, Ren’s phone rested on a mobile holder. The screen was unlocked and showing Sophia, glued to the inner side of the glass, curiously looking around the café.

“Sojiro gave you the keys?” Ren asked, strolling to the kitchen with Morgana in his arms. He then placed him on the counter, before realizing Boss would probably kill him for that, if he saw. The cat probably thought the same as he quickly jumped down to one of the bar stools.

“Hehehee, I’m the super responsible, genius high school hacker, Oracle! It’s natural to entrust me with a minor quest like this!” She didn’t take her eyes off the pot, like it was the power of her gaze bringing it to boil, not the flame under it.

“Futaba is so cool,” Sophie commented with honest admiration, “like an anime character!”

“They are at it since yesterday,” Morgana whispered in Ren’s direction and rolled his eyes.

“Did you spend the whole night watching cartoons?” Ren asked, hiding a smile, and leaned against the wall, watching over in case Futaba’s supernatural ability got out of control and the kitchen caught fire. “What happened to analyzing Sophia’s source code?”

“All taken care of, duh.” She shot him a quick look. “We did that first and _then_ watched anime. And the new episode of Featherman. Sophia liked it, by the way. And then we might have played some games, too.”

“Did you even sleep at all?” Ren raised his brow. “Or just got bored and decided to come by at one point?”

“That’s a secret!” Futaba said with a wide grin and turned the gas off, then took the pot off the stove.

They ate their noodles, Futaba and Sophia explaining how awesome and complicated the source code turned out to be, and how analyzing it whole would probably take at least a few months. “It’s the work of a true genius, believe me or not!” Futaba persuaded him excitedly, even though she didn’t have to. To Ren, not really knowledgeable in those matters, it already seemed incredible.

After finishing his noodles, Ren went ahead to prepare the morning coffee. When it was ready, first he just spent a minute breathing in it’s scent. Remembering the over four months without having a decent cup almost made him tear up a little, encouraging Futaba to make fun of his small moment of joy.

“Did you get used to Shujin?” he asked her between one sip and another. They haven’t touched this topic for a while.

“Hmm…” Futaba mused, stretching herself like a cat. “It’s cool, I guess? I mostly just stay in the classroom, so don’t have to deal with the crowds that much. PE is the overkill tho.”

“Lady Ann mentioned she’s looking after you too, I’m so jealous,” Morgana sighed longingly.

“It’s okay, kitty, you will meet Ann today!” Sophia tried to cheer him up, looking slightly concerned.

“That’s not the case! And don’t call me that, I’m not a cat!”

“Yeah, Ann and Ryuji drop by sometimes to bring me food, they are good minions. Oh, and I see Mishima the NPC sometimes.” Futaba picked Morgana up and aggressively ruffled his fur, disregarding his protests. “Sumire hangs with me too. Do you know how much she eats? I could manage that only with Sojiro’s curry, seriously.”

Ren smiled under his nose, remembering Sumire’s eating habits. “Sounds fun, huh. Too bad Haru and Makoto already graduated. I’m sure they’d find some fun stuff for you to do.”

“Uh, like taking care of student council’s paperwork or the vegetable garden? Thank you very much.” She rolled her eyes dramatically. “Also, uh, being alone with the two of them? Third-wheeling isn’t my hobby.”

Morgana finally broke free from her arms and jumped on the sofa next to her.

“Huh, what do you mean?” Ren asked and took the cup to his lips, wanting to finish the coffee off.

It was his mistake.

“Oh god, don’t tell me you didn’t notice they are going out.” She looked at him like he was an idiot.

Ren choked on his coffee.

“Whaaat?” Morgana jumped on the table and asked, while Ren was busy trying to catch his breath.

“Is Joker dying?” Sophia asked worriedly, his only ally in the room, but Futaba laughed her off.

“You guys are so slow, you really didn’t know?” She adjusted her position on the sofa, shifting from sitting normally to the usual crouch with her knees up. The smug grin appeared on her face.

“Uh, I mean,” Ren started, wiping off the tears from the corners of his eyes, “they didn’t really announce it, or anything.” Was what he said out loud, but it wasn’t all. He recalled both girls having a crush on him before, and rejecting them wasn’t the easiest thing. Setting his lack of romantic feelings towards them aside, the uncertainty if it won’t affect the atmosphere in the whole group hung heavy over him for a while. They were both mature girls though, so his concern proved unnecessary. He smiled and shook his head. “I’m happy for them, though.”

“Bleh, teenage romance,” Futaba commented, unamused, and loudly slurped her convenience store juice through the straw. Ren rubbed his neck, thinking about last night.

“Romance, huh,” Sophia echoed.

“What’s wrong, Sophia? You seem kind of down today,” Morgana pointed out, and everyone’s attention focused on her face on the phone’s screen.

“There seems to be a lot I don’t understand about humans,” the girl explained. “Can I really become a good friend of people like this?” She wasn’t looking at them, her head hanging down slightly.

To Ren, it seemed that despite being and AI, some of emotions Sophia displayed came off as more natural than others, very human-like, like she wasn’t that much different from them. The thought to not treat her as a person didn’t cross his mind even once. In his eyes, she was just a bit socially awkward girl.

“Nah, just look at Morgana.” Futaba took the straw out of the carton, spraying some leftover juice around, and pointed at the cat. “He’s not human either, and he’s a perfectly fine friend to us.”

“That’s right.” Ren nodded.

“No path is closed before you, Sophia!” Morgana exclaimed motivationally, and enthusiastically smacked Futaba’s straw with one paw, spraying even more juice drops around. “Also, we are pretty much the same. After all, the Phantom Thieves’ goal is to help people. I’m sure we can teach you a lot!”

“The Phantom Thieves, helping people…” Sophia pondered for a moment, then a happy smile appeared on her face, accompanied by a cheerful nod. “Understood! I will be counting on you, everyone. If that’s what you are doing, I can learn more about humans by watching you.”

“That’s what we intended from the beginning, Sophia.” Futaba beamed. “One or two things added to the plan, that’s no biggie!”

Ren nodded again in confirmation, even though he wasn’t sure they even have a plan now. He outstretched his hand to grab another croissant, but Futaba smacked his palm away.

“Aaah!” she yelled, startling everyone. “That one’s for Inari!”

“Yusuke?” Morgana looked around, like he expected the artist to magically appear in the café.

“Y-yeah, I bought one too many and he’s probably goin’ to skip his breakfast cause he bought another useless thing instead, or something” she explained, scratching her head.

“That… That sounds like something he would do,” Ren admitted and chuckled lightly. “That’s very kind of you, Futaba.” He reached out and patted her head, which made her giggle with content.

“Levelling my gentleness stat, success!” she giggled.

They cleaned up right in time for Sojiro to come to the café, and after briefly explaining to him that they are meeting up in Shibuya with the others, Ren went up to the room to finish getting ready.

While he packed his things up, brushed his teeth, and considered burning the piece of paper with Akechi’s writing (so no one finds it later to blackmail him with it), Futaba was helping Sojiro downstairs.

When they were leaving, Sojiro told them to not get in trouble, like usual, but it didn’t sound extremely convincing, like he himself didn’t believe they were capable of it.

Morgana didn’t joke about the heatwave, and Ren once again regretted his clothing choices while he strolled through Shibuya, Futaba at his side and Morgana tucked comfortably in the bag, where the sunlight couldn’t reach him directly. The girl spent all the way from the train to the walkway, their old hideout, with nose in her phone. She was clutching at Ren’s shirt with the free hand while at it, to not get lost.

They were the first to arrive, and as soon as they stopped, Futaba finally put away her phone and looked around.

“Akechi’s not coming,” she said nonchalantly.

“Okay,” Ren said, leaning against the railing by the windows going out on the city. He did a double take. “Wait, don’t tell me you’ve been texting Akechi all this time?”

“What, you jelly?” she teased, but moved on before he had time to react. “Nah, I wasn’t. I’ve made a new chat and added everyone and him there. I borrowed his contact info from your phone though.”

“That’s… fine, but why make a new chat?” He was scratching Morgana’s head absentmindedly, but the cat bit his palm when he asked about that.

“You are seriously a moron sometimes, you know that? Not everyone is so comfortable and trusting with the Detective Prince,” he said with a sigh, while Futaba just rolled her eyes and started digging in her small backpack in search for something.

Ren fished out his phone and opened the messages, noticing the “Unknown” contact was now saved under the name “Ferocious Detective Bastard” and quickly renaming it to “Akechi”.

**[Me] 9:33 AM**

_Heard you aren’t coming. I thought you wanted to be a part of this?_

A few minutes passed until he got the reply, in which the rest of the Phantom Thieves arrived and went through today’s plan (“We are only going in to look around today. No fighting, no getting found out, in short – no getting into trouble,” Makoto ordered).

Futaba gave Yusuke the croissant and they both got pretty emotional over it, making Haru giggle.

**[Akechi] 9:41 AM**

_Surely you will do without me leading you by hand this time._

Ren typed his reply:

**[Me]**

_We should actually try that sometime, but literally_.

He looked at it for a few seconds, looked at the floating icon of Sophia, then deleted the message and sent a simple _Sure_. as an answer instead.

What he typed first felt… dangerous. Not like his acquaintance with Akechi was ever anything else in the first place, but _this_ was dangerous in an entirely different way. And he wasn’t sure if he was ready to jump into it head on like this.

It wasn’t like those feelings, the little urges to flirt, touch, observe, started out of the blue. Through all the time he knew Akechi, from the very beginning, there was something in the boy that was pulling him in.

At first, it was the simply intellectual interest. Their talks were never boring – challenging and informative, always making Ren strain his brain and memory. Akechi had a vast knowledge on many topics, but what’s more important, he had a deep understanding of them. At any given time he was ready to present his opinions on the discussed matters, connecting them to other facts with a lightning speed. Detective’s intellect was inspiring. More often than not, even after they parted their ways after a meeting, Ren felt the urge to improve himself, which usually lead to him studying or reading until morning. He wanted to keep up, to be worthy, to impress Akechi, but most of all, he wanted to be able to look at things with the same eyes.

That stage of their relationship felt like wading through the woods in search of something unexplainable. Then, with time, Ren has made it to the clearing with a crystalline pond – a goal, a prize in the form of explanation. And although he could see it and recognized it’s true form, he didn’t feel ready to dive in, not yet. So he just kept strolling by it’s edges, knowing that choosing the wrong moment will make him drown.

Was it denial? Not really. It was more complex than that.

“Joker?” Sophia’s voice made him snap back to reality. She was looking at him from the screen, putting one hand on it like it was a window between realities, not a display glass.

He blinked and hummed questioningly.

“I thought it’s impossible for humans, but you have entered a standby mode. I was about to call someone to reboot you.”

He twirled the lock of hair from his bangs to hide the slight embarrassment. How many times did she have to call out to him?

“Thanks, Sophia,” he said and looked up at the others, gathered up in two small groups, both discussing something.

“It’s okay, Joker, I’m here to help. Are we going to enter the Jail now?”

“I will ask the others.” Ren nodded and walked up to the nearest group, where Haru was holding Morgana in her arms, listening attentively to something he was saying. Makoto was standing next to them, one hand resting on her hip, while the last member, Ryuji, leaned against the railing, arms crossed, and nodded affirmatively.

“Ren-Ren,” the blonde boy said with a smile when he noticed him closing in.

“Ren-chan!” Haru greeted him warmly and giggled. “You are back on Earth.”

He tugged at the bangs some more.

“We were talking about the Metaverse,” Morgana explained, rolling his eyes.

“We did come up with some more theories, but I’d still like to see it for myself,” Makoto added.

“Mona-chan says he never heard about the Jails before.” Haru stroked Morgana’s fur when he hung his head down miserably. “It seems like Sophia-chan and the three of you who went there yesterday may know the most about them. Them… or it.” She furrowed her brows and Ren thought briefly that, knowing their luck, it won’t end with only one, as she involuntarily suggested. What Lavenza told him didn’t exactly give a lot of hope for that either.

“We will just learn as we go,” Ryuji said merrily and shrugged. He looked excited and least worried of them all. Classic Ryuji.

Makoto sighed and shook her head. “It seems we don’t have another choice, but please, remember we have to stay cautious.”

“Are we good to go?” Morgana asked and Ren nodded in confirmation.

“Alright. Everyone!” Makoto called out to the other group and they all gathered around.

“Sophia, can you sense if the area around the exit we used yesterday is safe?” Ren looked down at his screen, where the girl was quietly listening to them all this time. She sniffed twice and tilted her head to one side.

“I don’t smell any enemies nearby. It’s good to go, Joker.”

“Let’s go, then.” Ren adjusted his glasses and led the way.

* * *

The entrance to the Jail they came through was pretty high above, allowing them to take a good look at the nearby area. It was a mostly empty evening-time Shibuya again, and the lit up castle-like building Ren noticed yesterday turned out to be a distorted 705. He was not surprised.

“This is… Shibuya, right? I thought if the keyword said ‘Wonderland’, the whole area would be transformed in a way resembling it, but it doesn’t seem to be the case.” Makoto stood by the edge of scaffolding, knitting her brows.

“Only this one building looks distorted,” Ann noted, pointing with her chin in the direction of the castle.

She sounded a bit unfocused and Ren realized she looked somewhat troubled. Was it because the building reminded her of Kamoshida’s Palace?

“It’s definitely suspicious,” Morgana, in his bipedal form, crossed his arms. “Following the usual pattern, it’s most probably where the master of this distorted piece of reality resides.”

“Alice Hiiragi… was it?” asked Yusuke.

Ann nodded and averted her gaze. Suddenly, Futaba shouted in surprise, startling them all.

“Wha-wha-what is this reading?!” she exclaimed, clutching her googles like she wanted to press her eyes deeper into them. “There is a _ton_ of Shadows’ readings out there!”

“Oh, right,” Ryuji scratched his head, ”we forgot to mention. It seems like there is a bit more Shadows here than in the Palaces.”

“ _A bit more_?” Futaba groaned with disbelief. “There is so many of them that the readings show them as a one big blur rather than single spots!”

Everyone looked among themselves nervously.

“Shadows?” Sophia asked from the height of Ren’s elbow.

“The things we’ve fought yesterday,” he explained then did a double take. A few of the Thieves jumped in surprise.

“Wh-wh-who are you?! State your name!” demanded Futaba, now hidden behind Yusuke.

“Those colors!” the boy exclaimed. “Those shapes! Depiction of friendliness, enhancing peaceful and trustworthy image.” Yusuke looked at the newcomer through the fingers habitually forming a frame, and nodded firmly. “There is no mistaking it, it’s Sophia.”

“Ya-ho! Phantom Thieves.” Sophia smiled cheerfully and jumped up and down. Everyone relaxed at once, and their faces got brighter with smiles and curiosity, as they regarded their new companion. “But I don’t see Mona, did he get lost?” The girl bent to the side in a familiar questioning gesture.

“I’m here,” Morgana said, raising one paw and stepping out to let Sophia see him better. “This is my Metaverse form.”

Sophia’s eyes went wide in surprise.

“Tanuki…!” she said, voice low and astounded, like the racoons were her raison d'être but she never saw one in person before.

Morgana waved his paws. “I’m not a tanuki! I’m a cat!”

Everyone’s heads turned towards Morgana at the exact same moment.

He startled and took a step back, waving again. “I mean, I’m not a cat either!” he tried to take it back, but everyone already started giggling, some more openly than others, and in the end he just sighed and shook his head. “Anyways, we have more important things to discuss!”

“Yes, what’s the intent of the Jail’s master in the first place?” Yusuke asked, nodding solemnly.

“Ren? Ryuji? You’ve met Alice here, right? Did she say something that could give us a hint?” Ann inquired, still looking strangely worried over something, and Ren thought the place’s similarity to Kamoshida’s Palace might not be the case, after all.

“Well…” Ren thought, trying to separate the memories of Akechi, overshadowing everything else, from… everything else. “Soon after we came here, she said something to those guys. Something like… ‘give me your wishes’, and then the Shadows started attacking them.”

“Yeah and they, like, pulled some shiny things out of them,” Ryuji added, rolling his arms.

“P-pulled out?” Makoto’s face paled, and Futaba next to her also looked a bit sick. “Wait, are you even sure they were the real humans?”

“We’ve seen them before, on that event with Alice.” Ryuji looked around and knitted his brows. “Actually… can people just go inside the Metaverse like us, now?”

“I don’t think that’s the case.” Morgana shook his head. “Maybe they were just Shadows?”

“The bad guys?” Sophia asked with a surprise.

“No, it’s slightly different,” Yusuke was the first to explain. “The Shadows of the humans are the manifestations of their other self, which resides within them.”

“So do you think…” Haru slightly knitted her brows. “Those people used the keyword in the app, just like us, but it only pulled in their Shadows into the Metaverse, instead of the actual people?”

Everyone went silent for a second, and Ren wondered why was their group any different. Was it the potential they carried as persona users? The fact that their own Shadows were inseparable from them, since they accepted their existence and used their powers? He had a feeling it’s one of those questions that can only get speculative, not definite answers.

“It might be the case.” Makoto spoke up, breaking the silence. “I don’t recall seeing any news of people suddenly disappearing all around the place, and that would happen if those weren’t the Shadows, right?”

“No such info on the internet either,” Futaba confirmed.

“But remember what Akechi-kun said yesterday,” Ann reminded them, “about investigating weird behaviors among her fans… sudden confessions and stuff.”

“So even though it’s only their Shadows, that are being pulled in…” Morgana started.

“…it still affects the actual people.” Ren finished.

“This is indeed worrying,” Yusuke said and sighed quietly. “Sophia, do you know something more about this?” he asked, looking at the girl, and everyone’s gazes followed.

“The things taken from the people, as you said, are their wishes. It was all the Shadows we fought yesterday were shouting about. But what happens to those whose wishes are taken? I have no information on this.” She shook her head, expression a bit sad.

“I’m having a bad feeling about this,” Futaba said. “I guess we will have to investigate more? Leave the internet to me,” she offered.

“I think we shouldn’t continue this talk here,” Makoto said and looked around. “We fulfilled our goal in this place for today.” She shot Ren a questioning look.

He nodded. “We should go for now, and come back later, prepared,” he decided. “And in full squad.”

* * *

Back in the real world, they decided to not only rely on Akechi’s information, but also snoop around by themselves.

There were many ways to gather intel, including eavesdropping on people talking here and there, or asking them directly. Even the rumors, or general opinions on Alice could be of use to them, while the detective took care of more formal side of the case – like the actual reports made to the police and such.

Everyone, save for Futaba, who still wasn’t too good with crowds, picked a considerably popular spot to investigate and scattered around, agreeing to meet up again an hour later.

Ren left Morgana with Futaba, so she wouldn’t feel too overwhelmed out alone in Shibuya, and jogged after Ann, who was already walking off in the direction of the Central Street. She seemed lost in thoughts, and got a bit startled when he caught up with her.

“Oh, Ren,” she said with a weak smile.

He put his hands into the pockets and smiled back. “You seem a bit down today,” he noted carefully.

She looked at him with surprise, then laughed quietly. “You are always so attentive to everyone around you, Ren.” She shook her head slightly, her smile gaining some more warmth. “It’s been a while, I almost forgot nothing can escape your eyes. You are a great guy.”

Ren rubbed his neck, not knowing what to say, and so they walked in silence for a while.

“I told you before that I’ve been following Alice’s appearances in media for a while,” Ann finally admitted. “Now that the whole Jail and taking wishes from people thing emerged, it’s… weird. I’ve had a pretty solid image of her in my mind, and it was a good image. I guess I must be a bit confused now.”

Ren nodded with understanding. It wasn’t like Alice was the first idol ever who had a chance of turning out to be completely different from their public image. Even their group, as the Phantom Thieves, have already experienced it with people like Madarame, Shido – hell, even with Akechi.

“I need to think about it by myself first,” Ann added after a while, but nudged him with an elbow in attempt to soften the impact of rejecting his inquiry. “I will talk to you about it later, to all of you,” she assured. “Thanks for worrying about me, Ren.”

He smiled reassuringly and offered her an arm. She hooked it with her own and they walked together like this for a bit, finding comfort in the friendly gesture, until they ventured to the front of the crepe shop.

“A popular spot as good as any,” Ren teased when he noticed where they ended up, and Ann laughed cheerfully.

“It’s the gravitational center of my universe,” she joked then sighed wistfully, while glancing at the menu.

“Want one?” Ren asked, but she shook her head.

“I will have to manage with the sight and smell alone,” she said. “It’s the strong will training.” She hummed thoughtfully. “By the way, do you think Akechi-kun still has that pancake trauma?” Ann asked out of the blue, with completely serious tone of voice, and Ren choked on his laughter.

“Pancake trauma, huh?” he repeated and noted in his mind to ask the detective himself.

“He was all like ‘I don’t wanna ever hear about the pancakes again!” She made a dramatic gesture. “But he really liked the sweets, didn’t he? It would be a shame if he wouldn’t be able to enjoy those anymore because of… you know, that.”

Ren smiled and shook his head. “Actually, he admitted before, when we hung out with Sumire, that he isn’t really a fan of sweet stuff. It was only for… well, public image purposes?” He noticed her surprise and chuckled quietly. “I felt lied to, too.”

“Lied to? That doesn’t exhaust the topic. Ughh, oh no, I was really set on believing he’s not a vile guy, but now I have some doubts,” she joked. Her mood seemed to have improved considerably by now.

They parted ways there soon after, to investigate in different parts of Shibuya.

It turned out that Alice has been one of the most popular topics lately. What surprised Ren though, as he walked around listening to people talking, was that she seemed to have more fans among males than among females. Looking at the types of clothes she produced, and her aesthetic in general, he would think that mostly the young girls and women would be the ones to relate to her and appreciate her craft. On the contrary, most of the females he overheard or asked about Alice seemed to be wary of her, or even openly disliked her.

There was one, probably a university student, he noticed critically looking at one of the posters featuring Alice. When he asked about the idol, she sneered and advised for him to not get into her. In her opinion, Hiiragi was just the kind of girl who built her public image around everything she was not – sweet and innocent. She reasoned she’s just the kind of idol who hides her black heart behind the walls and walls of sugar.

Next, with Sophia’s help as a navigator around the district, he wandered to the storefront of one of Alice’s boutiques, where – as expected – the atmosphere was completely different. There was a bunch of people waiting outside, and even more crowded inside, many of them impatient and excited, some visibly a step away from getting violent. He himself thought it weird, but at the same time it didn’t seem like an unusual behavior, coming from the hardcore fans.

Ren lined up there, partially to eavesdrop, partially out of curiosity. He wanted to see the clothes up close too, a habit he formed while working part-time at the Crossroads.

A lot of gathered fans discussed about the idol and her clothes with mutual agreement, but he noticed some people acting slightly off. They were either silently glancing around at others, all high-and-mighty, like they were on entirely different level of fanship, or making passive aggressive comments about that exact matter. One of the guys openly bragged about his hand touching Alice’s at one of the events, and how he’s never washing the palm ever again.

Ren didn’t wait for too long, because at some point, with him still being a few people away from even entering the store, one of the shop assistants went outside and apologized, as all items from the newest delivery got sold out already. Apparently, it only took a few customers and about ten minutes to do so.

Ren moved aside when some of the people in line aggressively pushed forward and started arguing with the staff person. He scratched his head, thinking of what to do now, as his investigation got cut so suddenly, while observing the situation outside the store, ready to intervene any moment, have things started going south.

A few seconds later, the phone buzzed in his pocket, making his heart jump at the thought maybe it’s a message from Akechi.

It wasn’t.

**[Ryuji] 11:15 AM**

_Yo, can you drop by Untouchable for a sec? I think I found one of the guys from yesterday… he’s actin weird_

Ren furrowed his brows, worried if Ryuji got involved in something accidentally.

“Let’s go, Joker.” Sophie blinked at him from the screen. “It’s worth checking out. I will lead the way.”

He nodded and was ready to start walking, when a familiar voice called out to him.

“Ah! Ren-niichan.”

He raised his head and smiled at the sight of elementary school boy in a red cap.

“Shinya, didn’t expect to meet you here.” He walked up to the boy, fighting the urge to take of his hat and ruffle his hair. He couldn’t do it without hurting the boy’s pride, though, so he did his best to resist.

His former arcade games teacher grew a good few centimeters since they last saw each other, but would still need a lot more to catch up with Ren.

Shinya shot a quick glance at the shop behind Ren’s back with apparent uncertainty.

“Well, I didn’t expect to meet you here either,” he stated and Ren rubbed the back of his neck, thinking about some excuses… of which none seemed believable, so he just sighed and gave up on trying.

“But seriously, what are you doing all the way in Shibuya?” he asked instead, and Shinya’s attitude changed suddenly – now he grinned proudly back at him.

“There is a local summer tournament happening, over the weekend, and I got permission from mom to sign up. It’s at the arcade near the Central Street.”

“I’m going that way, too,” Ren said, gesturing for the boy to come with him, and they started walking together. Ren kept glancing at Sophia’s navigation tips on the screen from time to time. “You came here alone?”

“Nah, actually… Takekuma is with me. Mom said I can go if he goes with me, since he’s an adult.” He rolled his eyes.

“Huh? Did we leave him behind?” Ren looked around, trying to spot a familiar figure, but there was no one like the guy in the sight.

“Nah, I left him under the arcade earlier, because I thought I saw you, and followed,” Shinya giggled lightly. “I’m good at finding my way around, I wouldn’t get lost. Takekuma is actually pretty useless as an adult, ya know? But I took him with me anyways. One reason, I didn’t want to worry mom, and the second, he’s my new student now.”

Ren chuckled and looked at the boy, feeling a fondness similar to what he felt with Futaba. If she was his little sister, Shinya was like a younger brother to him.

Extremely capable and mature for his age, while still carrying some of the really childish traits. For all his kindness and willingness to take care of others, Ren wouldn’t be surprised if he pettily made Takekuma call him ‘sensei’.

“You didn’t mention it earlier.” He waved the phone to show what he meant.

“Ohh, yeah.” Shinya adjusted his cap. “I wanted to tell you in person. I’m getting better too, while I help Takekuma improve. Was like this with you too, but not to that degree, since you didn’t have this shitty personality of a fallen celebrity.” He sighed. “I know now what the teachers at school had to go through when I was still acting like a brat.” Shinya shook his head.

“That’s great, Shinya.” Ren smiled at the boy. “Not many people are capable of seeing beyond themselves like that.”

Shinya adjusted his cap again and mumbled something that sounded like a “thanks”, and Ren could swear he noticed a slight blush on boy’s cheeks.

“Oooi, Oda-kun!” distantly familiar voice cut through the air when they walked out of the alley into the Central Street. Takekuma, as Shinya have said, stood outside of the gaming center and waved at them. He looked just like Ren remembered him – dyed hair, fancy clothes. The man must have been a good few years older than Ren, but was half a head shorter, even in his short-heeled loafers.

Ren checked his phone for the time. Only a few minutes had passed since Ryuji’s message was delivered, so he hoped everything was fine at his friend’s end.

“You in a hurry?” Shinya guessed, while openly ignoring Takekuma.

“Yeah, I have something urgent to take care of now.” Ren looked at Shinya, who seemed a bit disappointed. “I can meet you for a game later, though?” he suggested, hoping the investigation won’t take the Thieves much longer. Their agreed meet up time was in about ten minutes, after all.

Shinya’s face got a bit brighter, though he tried to mask it with a neutral, almost bored look and tone of voice. “Sure,” he said, “just give me a call. See ya!” He waved and run up to the ex pro gamer.

The arcade and Untouchable weren’t too far away from each other, so in another minute Ren was already standing next to Ryuji, looking through the window of the closed shop, pretending yet again to be a gun enthusiast.

In truth, they were listening in to the argument going on behind them, where the two guys stood by the bike rack. One of them was somewhat familiar – as Ryuji, who definitely had a better face memory than Ren, has said, he was the guy who stood next to them at the event with Alice, and who received the friend keyword card.

The other man was most probably his friend, and a rather close one at that, judging from the fact they were arguing about money. Ren briefly wondered if he should go ahead and record the conversation, as it seemed to also be connected to Alice, but the thought it can be illegal stopped him. He noted in his mind to ask Akechi about it later, and focused on trying to remember as many details as he could for now.

It turned out that the guy from yesterday has been begging his friend to lend him money (and not for the first time) since he was desperate to get some of Alice’s limited edition merchandise. He was almost breaking down into tears. It seemed like no reasoning was getting through to him, be it pleas or threats.

It must have been going on for a while now, and Ren only showed up in time to learn as much, then see the argument’s grand finale, as the Alice’s fan got annoyed to the bones, kicked someone’s bike, and walked away, leaving his friend sighing and _so_ done.

“Man, that was harsh,” Ryuji spoke up to the guy, who looked up, surprised, as if he only now noticed their presence. “Sorry, we sorta overheard,” he hurriedly explained.

“Oh, it’s alright,” the guy assured, but then sighed again and shook his head. “I mean, it’s not really okay, is it? I’m sorry for making a scene in a place like this.”

“I wouldn’t say you’ve caused a scene.” Ren wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. It was getting hotter and hotter. “You friend went a bit wild, on the contrary.”

“He… he’s not like this, normally.” The guy winced. “He got into that girl, Alice, recently, but it’s gotten worse since yesterday. It turned into… uh, obsession?” he was talking in a way that made it look more like thinking aloud. Suddenly, he flinched, as if realizing something. “Actually, I should go after him and make sure he doesn’t do something stupid,” he said, and run after his friend, forgetting to even wave a goodbye.

Ren shot Ryuji a questioning glance, but his friend only shrugged. “I think we should go back and meet up with the others for now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case anyone wondered - yes, Akechi left Ren sleeping on the roof because he is an ass. 
> 
> I have a feeling this chapter may have felt a bit slow, since there is a lot of talking and explaining, but I really hope you don't mind it sometimes TwT I'm sorry if there were some weird mistakes or weird sentences, I'm super tired from sightseeing (I'm on holidays now but it feels more like marathon around the place) but I still wanted to get this chapter published on schedule.  
> There was some Shinya to brighten your day (I hope, I really hope you love the little bro too), and there will be a bit more of him in the next chapter. Akechi will be back, too, also featuring a certain someone as the biggest lead to who took Akechi in XD
> 
> I wanted to keep the thing from the game where the social links kind of pushed the ideas of Makoto, Haru (and Sumire) having a bit of crushes on Ren, and express what the game didn't - his worry over the fact things could really get weird, because I think it was treated super lightly and they would to some extent if the crushes were real :( I don't know how it turned out in the end, I hope it's not too weird. I think this matter may surface again in the future, but for now it's only a hint. Since this thing takes place after the Royal and I didn't write a whole separate Royal fic, some matters will come up in the form of thoughts concerning the events just like this. 
> 
> Also, this here is a shuake fic, so I think it's pretty obvious that #shuake canon, the mutual pinning canon, and what you see here is a natural continuation of that :> RenRen KNOWS what it is he feels towards Akechi, but he needs some time and a bit of a push from here and there. It's just, you know, it's only the 2nd day Akechi's back.
> 
> I feel like this note is unnecessarily long so I will shut up now, but last thing - thank you so much for reading this fic, everyone, i'm totally moved, and seeing you reacting to it is the most uplifting thing in my life, love you!!


	8. Theories and Arcades

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “This is Akechi, my rival,” Ren announced shamelessly. “And this is…”
> 
> “He looks weak,” Shinya cut in. “Like some pissy-pants pretty b...”
> 
> “Shinya.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Akechi about to throw hands with a 13 year old the summary"  
> \- my lovely beta, 30.08.2020
> 
> (sorry, I had to, it's just- xDD)

“Let’s sum up the information we’ve gathered until now,” Makoto suggested when they all sat down at the Shibuya Diner. She had a notebook in one hand, opened at the blank pages, and a pen, which she held like a sword, in another.

Ren and Yusuke lazily flipped through the new special summer menu together, the former a little glad Makoto was so organized and ready to take charge of the meeting. He wondered if Akechi’s reappearance fired up the spirit of rivalry she once carried towards the detective.

Ren’s phone was placed again on the holder, screen lit up and split in two. The upper half showed Akechi sitting by the table, and a pretty homey background – he must have been at his apartment. The other displayed Sophia, levitating in whatever space intended for the data storage.

Makoto wrote down, then underlined something in her notebook. “Alright, who wants to go first?”

Futaba did, reporting what she had found on the internet, mostly social media sites. Apart from the expected hype posting, from time to time there appeared worried or angry in tone messages. The people who got broken up with, or at least stood up when their partners chose Alice-related event over them ranted about their situations, blaming the idol.

Futaba noted that most of them weren’t taken seriously, or even met with aggressive backlash. The authors were accused of spreading false rumors to damage idol’s reputation and blacklisted as the antis.

She barely finished speaking when the waitress came up to their table to ask for their orders. Everyone chose drinks, mostly the new flavor iced Frui-Tea, agreeing it’s too hot to get hungry yet.

Next up were Ann and Haru, who investigated on the Central Street, followed by Makoto that chose the area by its end, near the cinema. They have all agreed on one thing – what Akechi told them before was really happening around the town, to the extent it wasn’t even that hard to overhear any mentions of sudden changes of behavior, mostly among the young males.

“So it seems that the male fans are her targets.” Akechi tapped one finger on his chin. “It aligns with the results of my own investigation so far.”

Ren and Ryuji added their stories, further confirming it, everything while Makoto studiously wrote it all down. The fact that they have found the guy from yesterday surprised everyone, turning out to be their strongest lead until now.

Ren stirred his iced tea with a paper straw, already melting ice cubes rattling against the glass. “I was surprised that so many people were talking about this stuff. It made the whole situation seem like it’s actually an open secret.”

“It’s probably not that weird from the outsiders’ perspectives,” Morgana mused. “They treat the rumors as… well, just rumors, a bit scandalous touch to Alice’s career. A fancy drama to gather a lot of attention, place her in the spotlight.”

“But the cases are getting worse day by day, apparently,” Haru said, knitting her eyebrows. “The rumors seem to escalate after each event, like the one the boys attended yesterday.”

“I think it’s not weird to assume, then,” Yusuke added, “that acquiring the invitation card is, indeed, the first step taken in the process of change that occurs in people.” Everyone nodded in agreement. It was what they were guessing from the beginning, but now evolved into a hard fact.

“Wait, if you need the friend keyword to access the Metaverse, does it mean you got the card like this from Alice too, Akechi-kun?” Ann looked at the phone’s screen with wide eyes.

“The matter couldn’t really be investigated without me confirming first that…” he trailed off, as there was some sort of noise in the background of his room. Akechi leaned back in his chair and looked over his arm.

All of the Thieves held their breaths, listening in with apparent curiosity, quiet like during Palace infiltration.

“Do you think he’s keeping a pet?” Futaba whispered conspirationally.

“Maybe a lover,” Ryuji grinned and giggled then shut up when Ann elbowed him with a warning painted all over her face.

Ren swallowed the tea and carefully placed the glass back on the table.

“Jun-san, is something the matter?” Akechi asked into the room, face not betraying if he overheard their speculations.

“Can you take a look at this?” came the reply, voice getting more clear with each word, as someone closed in.

There was a motion by the edge of the screen, and a man appeared in their field of vision.

Judging by appearance, he was in his thirties, with a clear, bright face and smooth, a bit too long silky hair. He was radiating the energy of an elegant and much younger person.

He smiled gently at Akechi, seemingly not aware he just interrupted a video call and was now being watched curiously by a bunch of teenagers. Everyone leaned in closer and closer, trying to take a better look at the man, Ryuji and Ann almost bumping heads with each other.

Ren picked up his glass again, just to keep his hands busy and face straight, while the storm of thoughts raced inside his mind. He wanted to take a closer look too, but didn’t want to be too obvious about it.

Who exactly was this man? Akechi’s co-worker? But the detective seemed to be at home, and this Jun person was wearing very casual clothes. Did they live together? Why would Akechi, of all people, have roommates? And the ones twice his age at that?

“Goro-kun,” asked the man called Jun, presenting two very colorful pieces of clothing to Akechi, “are these socks yours or Tatsun’s?”

Half of the Phantom Thieves mouths went hanging open.

Ren slurped his tea through the straw with a needlessly loud noise.

Akechi pinched the skin between his eyebrows.

“Oh,” at the loud sound, Jun glanced at the screen of Akechi’s phone and noticed their group, squeezed up close and looking back at him, “you were talking to your friends?” He tilted his head, eyes narrowing into gentle crescents, and a small smile radiating genuine warmth appeared on his lips. “Hello, nice to meet you, Goro-kun’s friends.”

The shocked silence got torn by a few different people simultaneously greeting him back in different ways. He bowed his head slightly to them, then patted Akechi’s arm, saying something to him in a quiet voice, and left.

This whole time the detective didn’t stop pinching his skin nor did he open his eyes. When he finally did, his expression was calm and neutral, like nothing ever happened, and Ren tried to not search for the red mark between his eyebrows.

“I needed to see Alice Hiiragi in person to make sure my suspicions were or weren’t valid,” Akechi said, right back to the topic. “I assume that now, after confirming the state of the victims for yourselves, the next step you take will be to investigate the suspect herself. I don’t have any solid evidence for now, and I guess your sense of justice won’t allow you to act without it,” he added with a smirk.

Makoto cleared her throat. “Well, yes, I do agree it’s a natural follow-up. It’s how we do things.”

“How can we do that, though?” asked Haru worriedly. “Alice-san is a celebrity and we are just a group of teenagers.”

“Never stopped us before, duh” Ryuji said with a wide grin and shuffled on his seat. “We could go to her next event?” he suggested, but Futaba immediately shook her head.

“There is no info on more events like the one yesterday being scheduled anytime soon.”

“We shouldn’t just sit around and wait either, though.” Yusuke said with a frown. “Things are getting dangerous for the people whose wishes got stolen. They aren’t only ruining their personal lives, but also going to make themselves miserable in financial aspects. Who knows what can happen if this continues.”

“The damage may become irreversible…” Makoto added, absentmindedly tapping the page of her notebook with a pen.

“Guys…” started Ann hesitatingly, but Ryuji started talking at the same time.

“This sucks… that dude we saw in the Jail yesterday acts like some Alice-centered zombie already.” Ryuji leaned back on the seat and crossed his arms. “Before you came, Ren-Ren, that friend of his got angry about the guy getting money from illegal sources.”

“Guys…” Ann tried again and Ren shot her a look, wondering if she decided to speak out about what was bothering her earlier.

“That’s awful…” Haru said worriedly. “I was sure her popularity was a result of the usual interest boom…”

“It’s even more of a reason to start acting as fast as we can,” stated Makoto. ”But how can we…”

“Guys!” Ann lost her patience and raised her voice, adding a loud knock of her knuckles on the table for the effect. Everyone fell silent in a second. “I have something to tell you. I may actually have a way to get nearby Alice… tomorrow.”

“Huh? How so?” Ryuji looked at her with surprise.

“I… I’ve been watching Alice recently.” Ann curled and uncurled a lock of hair from one of her ponytails around the finger. “The interviews, her social media and stuff. So when I got the chance to, I asked my manager to organize something for me, in the name of learning experience.”

Akechi, who has been silent for a while, furrowed his brows. “So you’ve caught on that something was wrong so early, Takamaki-san?”

Ann shook her head. “It’s actually the opposite. I was really looking up to her and… her determination in pursuing her dreams and all that. I still can’t really believe that it’s all fake…”

“So, you said you _may_ have a chance, what’s with that?” Ren asked and Makoto nodded, like she was going to ask the same thing just now.

“Oh,” Ann adjusted her position, “I called it off, because of our plans. But it seems that we are not going anywhere for now, right?” Everyone nodded, some with apparent dissapointment. “That’s why I thought, maybe it’s still not too late for me to get the way in.”

“Do you think it will be possible to take someone with you, Lady Ann?” Morgana waved his tail worriedly. “If she really is up to something and you get in danger…” he trailed off meaningfully.

“I think I could bring someone with me? But probably just one person, I don’t want to cause any trouble for the manager…”

“It is a fact that people whose wishes get stolen start acting weird, we have enough proof of that now,” Yusuke reminded her with a frown. “And since Alice is our only suspect, the most probable one, too, as Ren and others saw her Shadow in the Jail, I agree with Mona, you shall not go there alone.”

“That’s one thing, but there is something else. I think it’s pretty obvious by now, but since it involves the Metaverse, then there is no one else to take care of things except for us,” Morgana added. “Does everyone agree that we have to act? Just to be sure we are all on the same page.” He looked at Ryuji when saying that and the guy rolled his eyes and slumped in defeat.

“Why are you looking at me, you… you cat,” he whined, triggering Mona’s hissing fit at the mention of his form.

Some things never changed.

“Alright,” Makoto interrupted them before things escalated, “let’s make a good use of Ann’s opportunity, then.” Ren nodded in confirmation when she looked at him for affirmation. “Now, who should be the one to go?”

Everyone’s gazes – and heads – turned in Ren’s direction at the same time. He held in the heavy sigh, ready to accept his fate, when Akechi spoke up suddenly.

“Not so fast.” He raised one hand to his chin, lost in thoughts. “What is the name of that show, Takamaki-san?” Akechi asked, and Ren felt a sparkle of an idea forming in his head.

“Actually, it’s that famous talk show, ‘Good Morning Japan’. I think you used to be a frequent guest in it at one point, Akechi-kun.” Ann looked at him curiously.

“Is that so?” The detective said, and when Ren looked his way, it felt like their eyes met, even through the screen and the camera lense. “Ren.” Was the only thing he said, but it was enough.

“Are we thinking about the same thing?” Ren asked, feeling his lips curling upwards.

The spontaneous, _plotting_ grin formed on Akechi’s, lips and it was all the answer he needed.

* * *

As promised, he went to hang out with Shinya after the Thieves’ meeting concluded about an hour later. The boy called his mom and made plans for Takekuma to pick him up later, and they went to explore Shibuya together.

Ren treated his little brother to some ramen, then – since the heat wasn’t letting up – they ate ice cream and walked around for a while.

After looking around a manga store, and then Shinya’s honest remark on Ren’s clothing choices for summer – accompanied with a gaze full of pity cast his way – they even stopped by the store where Ren finally got himself two pairs of knee-length pants.

Their last stop was unsurprisingly the arcade, and before they got too engaged in gaming, Ren sent out a message informing of his current location. He had one more meeting planned for today, and the afternoon was coming to an end, which meant the other person should be arriving soon.

They were playing for a while, and all this time Ren watched Shinya with a small smile. Even though they were not in their usual arcade, it still felt nostalgic. The familiar rhythm they quickly fell into made him wonder if – has he been older – Shinya would make a powerful ally as the Phantom Thief. He certainly had the promising skills in the physical manner. And when it came to possible potential in carrying the Will of Rebellion? Most likely, he had that, too.

From what he saw, the boy improved his performance in the game as well as behavior. He was definitely more patient and focused now, more observant. When Ren mentioned it, he casually replied with: “I’m learning a lot from others too, and it turns out some things from the real life can be applied to games too. My friend’s friend who trains kyūdō said that archery en…enhances both body and mind. And I want to prove it’s the same with shooting games, so no one looks down on me anymore!”

They caught up a bit throughout the afternoon, so Shinya’s response made Ren genuinely proud of the boy. Apparently he has been facing some difficulties regarding his hobby, from both older schoolmates and the teachers. But this time, he was different than before. He had allies now, in his mom and the classmates he made up with last year, and his previously acclaimed resolve didn’t prove to be stated lightly either. This time he didn’t react to the obstacles with anger and reckless acts, and instead found a strength in himself to look ahead, stand his ground, and try to prove himself in ways that could have a positive, valuable effect to him.

A lot in Shinya reminded Ren of Akechi, making him wonder if, had the detective’s mom not died, he would have a childhood similar to this.

“By the way, Ren-nii,” whispered Shinya after they finished yet another round. “This guy there,” he made almost imperceptible motion with his chin, “has been watching you for a while, do you think we should call for the security?”

Ren carefully looked to the side and his eyes locked with another, very familiar ones. He masked a sudden laugh that escaped his mouth with a pretended coughing fit, but the object of Shinya’s worry rolled his eyes, seeing right through his bullshit, and walked up to them.

“Did you catch a cold?” Akechi asked, voice heavy with irony. “I’ve heard only idiots catch a cold in summer.”

“Ah, an acquaintance?” Shinya was quick to connect the facts.

Ren nodded and decided to use this opportunity to introduce them, as Akechi stopped next to him, regarding younger boy with lazy curiosity. He was wearing more casual, red button up today, not the usual white one, and Ren wondered if he ever saw him in such bold colors before.

“This is Akechi, my rival,” he announced shamelessly. “And this is…”

“He looks weak,” Shinya cut in. “Like some pissy-pants pretty b...”

“Shinya,” this time it was Ren who cut in hurriedly, seeing as a very polite, almost _cheerful_ smile bloomed on Akechi’s face, and remembering the detective had a bad habit of shooting underaged boys with a real gun, “you shouldn’t judge someone’s strength based on their looks only.” He noticed Akechi’s smile going even wider and almost bit his tongue trying to talk himself out of this upcoming disaster. “Also what are you saying, haha, just because Akechi here is very handsome doesn’t mean he’s weak, he’s actually very smart and I’m sure his body is also-“ Akechi’s hand landed heavily and threateningly on his arm.

“Shut up, _Ren-Ren_.” Akechi’s face returned to it’s neutral unreadable state, but his voice as he leaned closer to his ear sent a pleasant chill down Ren’s spine.

“And this is Shinya Oda,” finished Ren the Coward quickly.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Shinya-kun.” Akechi’s hand left Ren’s shoulder, leaving a warm, ticklish sensation lingering on it. “Are you Ren’s relative?”

Shinya looked the detective up and down. “Nah,” he said in the end. “Big bro here was my student.”

“Oh, a student? May I perhaps make a guess here?” Akechi smiled again and Shinya shrugged, apparently completely unfazed and not intimidated at all. “I came here with Ren once before, and he got utterly defeated by me in this shooting game here.” He gestured at Gun About’s screens. “Have you been teaching him so he can improve, ever since?”

Ren listened to Akechi’s petty revenge and tried not to roll his eyes. Of course he had to bring up their match and highlight his win in a way that made Ren look like a total loser.

He didn’t know the truth – that Shinya’s training began because of one problematic Mementos’ shadow – but the truth wasn’t exactly the point here anyways.

“Well, I don’t really know,” Shinya shrugged again, “Ren-nii only said he needs to beat someone in the game, so maybe it was you. You should ask him if you really wanna know. Misunderstandings suck.”

Ren sighed and shook his head. “Do you guys wanna play? You should take this opportunity to face a strong opponent, Shinya.”

The boy looked skeptical but nodded in agreement.

Akechi looked like he wanted to protest, but when Ren sent him a smile – which he intended to turn out expectant and encouraging – detective joined the sighing trend and agreed to one short game with the kid.

“Just don’t cry later, little boy,” Akechi warned Shinya, whose brows shot up at the audacity. Ren started suspecting the detective wasn’t the type to get along with kids.

“We will see who’s gonna be the one to cry, pretty boy,” Shinya countered without missing a beat. Ren covered his face in the hands. Maybe it was a bad idea, after all.

He dragged himself a stool from under the wall to sit on, and watched the two go at it, not able to contain the curl on the corner of his lips from lingering there. Both were doing great as expected and Shinya, instead of getting angry and throwing curses like he would before, started getting more serious and focused. Even though he and Akechi were bickering slightly from time to time, the boy was getting more respectful as the round passed.

And although Akechi stated clearly that he was up for only one game, after the first one he played two more with the boy. By the time they finished, they gathered a small crowd of game enthusiasts around, cheering them on and commenting on their skills.

Even though Akechi tried to maintain his cool and emotionless expression, Ren was getting a feeling that he is actually having fun. He didn’t leave even one of Shinya’s taunts unanswered either, which surprised Ren slightly at first, but after giving it some thought it only became one more reason for him to think of the two as similar. At one point Ren even felt a bit jealous, not used to not having Akechi’s attention – and most of the snarky remarks – directed mostly at him.

When they finished the last round, the outcome was Akechi scoring two wins and last match ending with a draw.

Shinya put his gun away in silence, appearing lost in thoughts, but spoke up as soon as the crowd dispersed seeing the show has come to an end.

“You held back in the last round,” the boy stated and Ren looked at the detective with surprise. “I don’t think it was because of pity, I think you just wanted to keep up the friendly atmosphere, but you didn’t have to do that anyways.”

Ren never expected Akechi to go easy on anyone, even a kid, though he have noticed already that he was using his right hand in the matches. And he decided to hold back on top of that?

Ren didn’t have the heart to tell Shinya it’s not Akechi’s dominant hand, so he settled on glaring at the detective.

At the same time, he felt a bit moved on his account, that Shinya considered their bickering a “friendly atmosphere”. Most people, seeing Akechi like this, wouldn’t react the same way. Maybe the detective have also noticed and appreciated that.

“Oh, why is that?” Akechi, who put his gloves on to play, was removing them now.

“It’s no shame to lose to the stronger opponent.” Shinya smirked at him, voice betraying the confidence in his own words. “I learned a lot today, I’m sure it will help me improve further. Sorry for that earlier, Akechi-san, I judged you wrong. You are strong.”

Akechi tilted his head to the side, watching the boy with some new emotion for a few seconds before nodding.

“But still a pretty boy,” Shinya added, killing the serious atmosphere.

Ren could swear he could see the murderous intent in Akechi’s eyes.

“You were not so bad yourself, for a stinky brat,” Akechi parried, and Ren wondered if other people experienced something similar to what he did now, when they listened to _him_ and the detective bickering.

“We can play again sometime,” Shinya suggested, with a poor attempt to hide the hopeful tone from his voice, and Akechi nodded in agreement, without any further comment this time.

Shinya turned to Ren.

“By the way, Ren-nii, there’s something I wanted to tell you.” He smiled, widely and happily like he rarely did, which made him look more like the kid he was. “I know maybe it’s impossible now, but I hope that one day instead of playing as opponents, we could play in one team together. I think it will be even more fun.”

“I’m looking forward to it, Shinya,” Ren said, trying to hold himself together and at the same plotting in his head to make Futaba hack and reprogram Gun About to get this feature.

“And by the way,” Shinya looked at Akechi again, through the narrowed eyes this time. “I think I remembered who you are. You are that prince-something detective who chased the Phantom Thieves around, aren’t you?”

Both Ren and Akechi froze for a second, but Shinya grinned impishly.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. And it seems like you’ve acknowledged your mistake by now.” He shoved his hands into the pockets of his blazer and kicked at the floor tile with the tip of his shoe. “I have a feeling you are getting along with Ren-nii sorta _too well_ , even.”

“We are rivals, but we are also friends,” Ren hurried to explain, but the boy looked at him suspiciously, like he didn’t really believe him for some reason.

“Right, _friends_. More like boy-“he started, but suddenly, Akechi’s hand shot forward and clasped the boy by the cheeks, preventing him to say more.

Ren’s heart almost fell out of his chest in that split second. He felt he knew where this was going and it wasn’t something he was ready to hear said out loud and deal with the consequences of it.

“Are you sure you want to finish this sentence?” Akechi asked, voice low, and let the boy go when he exaggeratedly rolled his eyes in reply.

Shinya opened his mouth to comment, but then something in the direction of the door caught his eye.

“Oh, it’s Takekuma, gotta go.” The boy adjusted his red cap and winked at them. “See ya!” He ran off before they could even react.

“What a strange kid,” Akechi commented quietly, following Shinya with his gaze. “I’m not good with brats generally, but this one wasn’t too bad. He could run his mouth a bit less, though, for his own good.” He said it conversationally, but Ren could read the message – they were not going to talk about _this_.

“He’s pretty mature for his age, right?” He shoved his bag on the shoulder and gestured for Akechi to lead the way to the exit. “Did he remind you of yourself a bit?” he asked, not trying to hide his curiosity.

“Hmm… why do you think so?” Akechi shot him a quick look before stepping out into the late afternoon heat first, when the automatic door opened before him.

“Well, with your brain, I would guess you were a pretty smart kid too,” Ren looked around and chose the side of the promenade with seemingly less people on it. “And he is also…” he trailed off, thinking if what he was going to say isn’t insensitive, but Akechi gave him an encouraging nod. “There is only him and his mom, actually.”

“Oh, I see,” detective’s voice was calm and neutral, but it didn’t seem to Ren that he is holding back anything. It sounded peaceful more than anything, like he finally came to terms with that aspect of his own life.

“You seem… like you’ve come to terms with everything,” he pointed it out cautiously as they walked towards the Shibuya Station.

“Did I?” Akechi pondered, shielding his eyes from the ray of the slowly setting sun, reflected on the shops’ windows. “I don’t know. The feelings that fueled me for so long aren’t that easy to cast away.” He stepped to the side to avoid bumping shoulders with some passerby and in effect brushed the other one against Ren’s.

“I sense there is a ‘but’ here.”

They stopped before the crossing, waiting for the lights to change.

Akechi shot him an amused look. “There is one, indeed,” he admitted. “You see, I used to read a lot of fiction books when I was younger.”

“I’m shocked you had the time between one encyclopedia and another,” Ren teased, making the other boy snort lightly.

“You flatter me, but I was just an ordinary kid,” he said, while they made their way through the Scramble. “But where I’m going with this is, one of the frequently reappearing motives in literature is the matter of vengeance.”

Ren nodded in confirmation. “It _is_ a popular motif, and at the same time, the general view on it is forever changing. In many traditional works avenging someone was seen as the payback, the way to settle the score, but in truth often fueled an endless cycle of revenge.” He doesn’t ask what’s the purpose of bringing this up, he just goes along with it. It feels natural. Nostalgic.

“But then, as it’s being portrayed in the newer works,” Akechi picked up with a smirk, “it’s proven to be a worthless thing that doesn’t really fix anything. Doesn’t pay back for anything, doesn’t relieve the feelings of anguish inside you. The only thing it _does_ is that it makes those who saw it through more miserable. Makes them realize the vanity of their drive.”

They fished out their commute cards and passed through the ticket gates. There weren’t many people here at this hour, surprisingly.

“It makes internally good people regret, and grow through that regret. But what does it do to bad people? What do you think, Ren?” Akechi stopped suddenly and turned to face him. They were standing only a few centimeters apart, so detective’s intense gaze was locked with his and the fake glasses were no shield against it. “I can tell you that.” Akechi said quietly and smirked, though it lacked its usual sharpness. The look on his face was more complicated than that when he turned around to proceed.

Ren reached out without thinking to catch his sleeve, but remembered too late that Akechi didn’t wear his jacket today, as it was too hot. His fingers clenched lightly around detective’s wrist instead, making him look back with genuine surprise for a second, before he smoothed his expression back to the neutral mask. His brows rose up questioningly.

Ren cursed himself for succumbing to uncontrollable impulses, and thought about what he really meant by this.

He wasn’t the best person out there to talk about emotions. Voicing them out, translating them into words, often felt like he was only conveying a small part of what was really on his mind.

He didn’t want to tell Akechi that he was a good person. He was good in Ren’s eyes, but definitely not in the standard meaning of this word. He wasn’t exactly good _morally_ , he was just good as he was. But what did it really mean? Probably mostly that, to Ren, everything about Akechi was something he could easily accept.

Was it a good thing or a bad thing?

Shouldn’t he, as his rival, or as his friend, be somewhat nagging, point out his shortcomings, help him to fix them?

But then, Akechi said once before, that he doesn’t want Ren to change. And Ren thought, he doesn’t want Akechi to change, either.

They were fine like this, weren’t they? In certain matters understanding each other perfectly, but in others being complete opposites. Becoming a sort of moral compass to one another.

They didn’t really need to be the same to work things out, their goals and opinions didn’t have to align in every detail, or even as a whole. But how was he supposed to tell this all to Akechi? Or maybe he was overthinking it, and the other boy already knew.

He looked up at him and their eyes met again.

Yes, he knew.

“Then tell me,” Ren said.

He let his hand slide down from Akechi’s wrist to his palm – slowly and carefully, in case the detective wanted to smack it away – where it lingered for a brief second before he squeezed it lightly and reluctantly let go.

Akechi’s eyes widened slightly but, surprisingly, he accepted the gesture without pushing Ren under the incoming train.

* * *

During their subway ride, Ren pulled out his phone and earphones and let Akechi talk to Sophia about the Jail and Metaverse, listening to her answers through one of the earphones himself.

They miraculously found two open seats, so instead of being squeezed by the crowd, they sat with their arms and legs pressed closely together, heads close to avoid the ear pieces falling out at the accidental tug on the cable.

Ren didn’t have many chances to see the detective actually _working_ before, save for a few cases he helped with, like the memorable one where he dressed as a policewoman. Just like before, though, he couldn’t help but be impressed at how professional the other boy acted. No word was wasted from him and no word was lost on his ears as he listened and at the same time turned the information around in his mind, the image of efficiency.

He didn’t have a notebook, like Makoto did, but it didn’t seem like he needed one. Only sometimes he added single words to the notes on his phone, creating some sort of map of thoughts, then adjusting his questions to fill in the holes he left.

Ren watched the process like enchanted, thinking there were really many kinds of magic and wonders even in daily lives. It felt like witnessing Akechi solving a crossword or sudoku, but there were no initial frames or numbers to it, only new leads born from old leads, the self-creating puzzle.

Even though Sophia was as new to the Jail as they were, she was an AI after all, and she kept the information she gathered stored. Thanks to Akechi’s thorough questioning, they were able to gain more leads about the place’s structure and it’s differences and similarities to that of the Palaces’. Since Akechi went in there before, and thanks to the navigation skills they both possesed, they determined that there were some places there worth checking out. Sophia mentioned she could _smell_ certain structures there, and it was probably the most important thing they’ve learned that could help them plan their next trip to Jail.

Besides that, the sure thing was that Alice Hiiragi was in some way connected to the distortion and it’s shape, as it was indeed a twisted image that could bring the dark version of the Wonderland to mind.

“This aspect is similar to what was going on with the Palaces, right?” Ren thought out loud. “There is a parallel between the distortions. In Kamoshida’s case, he saw Shujin Academy as the castle, and so it looked like one. That knowledge was also used as the keyword allowing us to access it through the Meta-Nav.”

“Yes, but in the case of Alice’s Jail, you only need the keyword, not the place of distortion.” Akechi looked at the screen of his phone, but it seemed like his eyes were not really seeing it, his thoughts in some faraway place. “This part is somewhat weird, if you think about it. I’m not sure what it means yet, but before, when the Palace’s source of distortion was taken away from inside of it, the whole place collapsed. But here, we don’t know what causes the distortion in the first place, and it doesn’t seem like there is a treasure in to steal. Unless those things Sophia can smell are it’s equivalents.”

“So, what do you think is there for us to do?” Ren propped his cheek on the palm of his hand, elbow rested on the thigh.

“First, it’s just a theory, but I have a hunch… I think Alice Hiiragi is aware of her powers.” Ren looked at him with surprise, but the other boy still didn’t raise his eyes up. “As I’ve said before, it seems she actually _targets_ a certain group of people. Maybe she doesn’t know in detail what exactly she is doing, but she sees the effects of it and acts in a certain way, repetitively, to let the occurrences continue. In this case the action is, most probably, giving away the friend keyword cards.”

“Her Shadow certainly knew what it was doing,” Ren said, thinking about how strange it was, that the parts of people’s personalities seemed to live lives of their own. Arsène chuckled quietly in his mind. “What do you think the wishes are? It’s another thing that’s different from the Palaces, or even the Mementos. The people’s Shadows are being involuntarily pulled inside the Jail, right?”

“Let me ask you something else first.” Akechi finally looked up at him. “What do you think the name _Jail_ means in accordance to that place?”

Ren hummed thoughtfully. “Jail, hm? In other words, a prison. A place to confine or be confined.” He thought about the shape the Velvet Room took for him. “I think the most obvious answer would be, that it’s the place to confine the parts of the victims that their wishes, in this case in materialized forms, represent.”

“And the less obvious answer?” Akechi smirked almost imperceptibly.

“That Alice herself is a prisoner, too.”

“Alice is the prisoner?” It was the first time in a while Sophia spoke up. She was only listening to their talk for a few minutes now. “But the guards referred to her as their queen.”

“Everyone is a prisoner in some way, Sophia-chan,” Akechi said, glancing at her with one eye, then closed it too. He leaned the back of his head against the window, almost pulling out the earphone from Ren’s ear. “In a place like the Metaverse those matters gain additional weight, since it relies on person’s psychological issues, like their cognition, which often distorts their views on many things, including themselves.”

“It’s hard to understand,” Sophia grimaced slightly. “Do you think I will be able to grasp it better if I spend more time with the Thieves?”

Ren thought about Jose and his frustration when the strange boy came to the conclusion that humans are really hard to get, too contradicting in their words and actions.

Then he thought about Morgana, not too different from the other Thieves with his understanding of human matters. “I’m sure you will be able to, if you stick along.”

“Hmm…” Sophia thought it through then smiled. “Okay, Joker! I’m counting on you. By the way, there is a message,” she notified and, sure enough, he received a new mail two seconds later.

**[Sumire] 5:47 PM**

_All taken care of, senpai!_

He sent her a cute thumbs up sticker in response, then showed the message to Akechi, who opened one eye to take a look at it, then closed it again as he nodded in confirmation. He didn’t comment on the sticker.

“So, about the wishes?” Ren persisted, and Akechi sighed.

“Yeah, I do have a theory. Looking at what happened to the man we saw in the Jail yesterday, I think it’s safe to assume that the wishes, literal wishes, are being taken away from the victims and used for something… whatever it is. I’m sure we will find out after infiltrating the Jail further. The stolen wishes are probably replaced with one… collective wish after that.”

“Collective wish?” Ren rubbed the back of his neck. “Oh, you mean the thing that connects all the victims. The change they undergo… So it’s the wish to… uh, buy Alice’s merchandise?”

Akechi snorted, then straightened up, opening his eyes. He looked somewhat… excited? “No, you dumbass. Remember what she said right before she ordered her guards to take us away?”

“Something about not listening to her?” Ren stretched his memory but couldn’t recall the line in detail.

“She said she has no need for the toys that don’t listen to her,” Akechi supported, then stood up. They were closing in to their station.

Ren shoved the phone to the pocket and followed him towards the exit.

“Oh, so you think the result of getting the wish stolen is… becoming Alice’s slave?”

A few people standing by the door looked at him weirdly. He was sure he heard some older lady saying something along the lines of ‘young people these days!’.

He tugged at his bangs, realizing how obstinate his statement may have seemed to someone unrelated to the case.

Akechi simply nodded, not looking back at him, and led the way to their next destination.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that "canon" nickname for Tatsuya is "Ta-chan" or "Tacchan", but when I played the game I set it as Tatsun and it lives in my heart since then :3 
> 
> I never feel like I say it enough, so - thank you everyone for reading and leaving the comments, the thought that someone is waiting for this story to continue keeps me going when I start doubting it TuT 
> 
> Next chapter - 5,5k words of Ren and Akechi bonding over drinks in Jazz Jin? Maybe. And the serious talk with Morgana, too.


	9. Beautiful Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akechi snorted lightly and shook his head. “You never cease to surprise me.”
> 
> “It’s because you don’t treat me seriously,” Ren parried, looking him straight in the eyes. “And I think it’s the high time to start doing so.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the atmosphere boost, good old 'No More What Ifs": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPanVcx0iyc&t=19s

Neither Kichijoji nor the Jazz Jin have changed since the last time Ren visited this neighborhood. The streets were lively even now, in the slowly dying light of the day, gradually replaced with the soft glow of the street lamps and from countless other sources, from the shop windows to neons.

Ren and Akechi were standing outside the jazz club for a few minutes now, the former reading the information on the blackboard stand for the umpteenth time, giving his companion more time.

“This is stupid,” the said companion announced suddenly, but didn’t proceed to explain what exactly was stupid and why.

Ren looked back at him, the names of drinks served in the club involuntarily memorized and floating around in his head. The detective as standing two steps away, arms crossed, and looking impatient more than anything.

And yet, they were still not coming inside. For some reason, it seemed that in comparison to his lack of hesitation upon entering Leblanc the day before, Akechi had some trouble coming back here.

Ren considered asking him what’s wrong for a second, but decided against it. Instead, he took his phone out and took a picture of the club’s schedule of singer appearances for August. Today was the 26th of July and, with everything going on, he imagined they won’t have an opportunity to stop by anytime soon.

Ren barely pocketed the phone when Akechi finally took one step ahead, then another, and went for the stairs. He hesitated, suddenly realizing that maybe the other boy didn’t want him playing the witness here, and considered waiting for a few minutes more before following.

But, just as he decided on it, Akechi emerged back from the shadows, caught his arm and dragged Ren to the club with him, as if he could mind-read Ren’s intentions.

Not for the first time Ren considered that this level of understanding and perceptiveness the other boy possessed should be unsettling, probably. For some reason though, it was making him somewhat happy instead.

They descended to the dim-lit basement level together, and Ren was the first to go inside the spacious room. He slowly breathed in the familiar air and atmosphere of the place. The sweet smell of cinnamon and cloves, the sour, richer tinge of wine. Slightly damp but refreshing note of wood and stone. The mixture of scents filled his lungs with the warm feeling of good times.

His second favorite place on Earth after Leblanc.

The evening was only starting, so there weren’t many other customers present, the soothing murmur of their talks tangling harmoniously with the quiet jazz notes flowing from the speakers hidden in different places of the room.

Muhen, the slightly eccentric but kind owner, stood behind the bar. He was scribbling something in the notebook while scratching at his newly acquired goatee, appearing lost in his own thoughts. Even so, maybe thanks to some sixth sense of the barista, he looked up at them as soon as they stopped by the counter.

“Welcome, what can I get y—” the words froze on his lips when he recognized them, the pen dropped on the counter and rolled all the way to its edge, fell to the floor with a distant _clank_.

“Hello, it’s been a while,” Akechi said with a sweet smile, voice steady and confident.

If Ren was on Muhen’s place, and if he didn’t know Akechi too well, he would really want to punch him now.

But he just kept looking at the detective, noticing how he almost didn’t blink, how he rubbed his thumb against the index finger, the motion probably a replacement for tugging at his perfectly ironed shirt.

Ren was seeing right through his bullshit and at the same time kept forcing himself not to grab the hand that was giving the other boy out, so his own could become the source of comfort instead.

But Akechi was an individualist and Ren was feeling very stupid about his certain thoughts and actions reoccurring for the whole day.

Must be the effect of what happened the previous day, he lied to himself.

He pocketed his hands and cleared his throat. “One runaway Detective Prince, delivered. Our company will cover the shipping costs,” he said for which Akechi smacked him and the tension subsided.

Muhen laughed quietly and took the sunglasses off for a moment to wipe his eyes. He sighed and bent down to pick up the pen.

“You should drop by more often, Akechi-kun,” he said gently, when facing them again. “It’s been a while since I had a chance to get my ears talked off about criminal investigations. Even though I don’t really get this stuff.” He smiled at Akechi, then turned to Ren. “Thanks for remembering about that little request.”

“It was no problem at all.”

Ren rubbed the back of his neck.

If Akechi didn’t come back, he probably wouldn’t be able to step inside this place ever again. The Phantom Thieves had a few hideouts throughout their career, but this place was the hideout for the two of them. Ren never took anyone else with him here, not even Morgana, who seemed to respect the fact or at least tolerate it, as he never really commented on the matter, swiftly disappearing to his own business every time Ren had an appointment here.

Muhen led them to the table in the back of the room, the one with a good view at the currently unoccupied stage, but placed slightly away from the other customers, allowing them as much privacy as possible. He sat down with them for a few minutes, catching up with Akechi, while Ren listened quietly, flipping through the menu yet another time that day.

When the sound of multiple steps and voices announced the arrival of the new group of customers, Muhen took their orders – Akechi’s ‘the usual’ for both of them – and went back to the counter.

Finally alone, they sat in comfortable silence for a few seconds, before the detective spoke up first.

“It’s a wonder,” he said, looking at Muhen’s back as the man was making his way back to the bar.

“What is?” Ren asked, because he felt this time Akechi expected him to.

“Before, if you asked me, I would tell you I don’t keep people in my life. The bonds with others, when you live your life in a certain way, become ties that only hold you back. Weaken your conviction. Make you hesitate.” His gaze turned to Ren. “I might have been wrong about being free of bonds at that time,” Akechi admitted and even though it was a ‘might’, Ren knew how much effort it took from the other boy to even imply it. “Even though it didn’t seem like this to me back then, it is perhaps one of those matters that reveal their true form only when you gain another perspective on them.”

“Is that what you’ve chosen?” Ren asked, because even though the loneliness was often a choice, it may have been an involuntary one.

“It’s a bit more complicated than that.” Akechi tapped his finger on the table. “First, it simply lays in my nature to not seek too many close connections. I am certainly not getting bored, being by myself, and acquaintanceship requires both time and engagement. Which I’d rather use to tend to my own business instead. Second, setting aside my personal preferences, it was…” he trailed off for a moment, like if he was searching for a good way to phrase it, “risky. Yes, it has been dangerous in many aspects, while I was working under Shido,” he said with more confidence.

They fell silent for a moment, as Muhen came over with their drinks and disappeared again.

“Because you could change your mind about that plan of yours?” Ren asked simply and sipped on his colorful drink but looked up, not getting an immediate answer, feeling Akechi’s gaze on himself instead. “What?”

“Shouldn’t your first guess be that it was dangerous because Shido could use those people against me or hurt them?” he answered the question with another question, narrowing his eyes.

Ren smirked and leaned back on his chair, stretching out his legs, accidentally brushing off Akechi’s shoes in the process. “Well, you tell me. I thought we were talking about you, not some average human being with white morals.”

Akechi snorted lightly and shook his head. “You never cease to surprise me.”

“It’s because you don’t treat me seriously,” Ren parried, looking him straight in the eyes. “ And I think it’s the high time to start doing so.”

Akechi fell silent for a moment, regarding him with his eyes still slightly narrowed, gaze analyzing.

Ren knew he wasn’t being completely fair when he said that. He knew that Akechi already trusted him enough to stop pretending being someone he wasn’t. It seemed though, he still didn’t let the thought that Ren actually _understood_ him sink in completely, at times. And Ren shouldn’t force things, probably, but at the same time he felt like he waited long enough already. If he wasn’t going to get through to him, no one would.

“Do you really think a bond with someone would be enough to stop me from carrying out my plan?” Akechi spoke up suddenly with a somewhat dangerous glint in his eyes.

Red didn’t even need to think it through. “No,” he said simply. You shot me, after all, he didn’t add. You were ready to cast your life away to get our reality back. “But I think you had to cure yourself of that doubt too, first,” he blurted out instead, before he thought he should probably bite his tongue after the first word left his mouth.

Akechi’s face didn’t betray anything as he answered. “I’m not going to talk to you about it.”

Ren shrugged and picked his drink up again. “So, Muhen, huh?”

“I’ve apparently grown attached to this place,” Akechi didn’t comment on the sudden change of the topic. He poked at the ice cubes in his glass with the straw, disrupting the harmony between the layers of different kinds of juice and syrups. “But I didn’t expect that sentiment to be returned.”

Ren looked at Akechi and realized what exactly caused his hesitation before entering the place.

The detective was good at judging his relationships with other people. He knew what reactions to expect in answer to which behaviors, oftentimes using this knowledge to manipulate the conversations to his own benefit. Akechi didn’t hesitate before barging into Leblanc the day before, because he knew, or at least was able to predict, in which direction will the things go. And, as he didn’t care too deeply about most of the Thieves and their opinions, nothing they could have done had the chance to impact him too greatly.

With Jazz Jin it was another story however, as his attachment was a more delicate issue, not forged forcefully for the sake of the job or his own plans.

“Do you have others like this?” Ren jumped at the opportunity to ask about something that has been bugging him all day. “Like that man, Jun-san, was it?”

Akechi rolled his eyes at the memory of what happened earlier. “I’ve met Jun-san sometime after what I’ve told you about yesterday.”

“Huh? Oh, so it’s the officer, who…” Ren adjusted his position on the chair.

“No, it’s his partner.”

“You are living with your boss’ investigation partner?”

Akechi sighed. “No, they are boyfriends and I’m living with both of them.”

Ren picked up his drink, looked at it for a few seconds, then put it back at the table, then picked it up again and drank until there was only half of it left. It was so cold from the ice that he coughed a few times.

He didn’t think about anything in particular while doing so. Or, at least, he tried not to.

“I thought when you said the officer took you in, you meant it for the job,” he said finally, not quite looking at his companion.

“It was only for the job at first, but then we agreed that living in my old apartment means living under possible surveillance, so I moved. I’m not planning to stay there forever, obviously, but it was nice of them to offer me a place to stay.” Akechi crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, appearing quite relaxed, by his own standards.

“Wait, what?” Ren looked at him with surprise. “So they know about Shido? But I thought you wanted to shove this matter under the carpet and burn the house?”

Akechi nodded and smirked with satisfaction, probably content that he managed to surprise Ren. “There were some special circumstances,” he said, and Ren knew he isn’t telling him everything. But he also knew it’s not the time and place to ask for more on the matter.

“That’s… nice,” he admitted and followed with the first thing that came to mind. “Do they feel like a family to you?”

Akechi looked at him for a long moment, slightly tilting his head, like if he was weighing his next words in his mind before deciding if it’s alright to speak them.

“What’s a family, Ren? At first it was my mom, but after she was gone…” he trailed off. “To me the family is… a group of unrelated strangers to look at from afar. Tatsuya-san and Jun-san certainly don’t feel like people beyond my reach, but I’m not sure if it’s not too early to make assumptions. There is a sort of trust there, I guess, the quite unexpected factor. But it just happened, and I’m trying to familiarize myself with the new perspectives.” Ren smiled slightly, thinking Akechi’s answer through. “What about you, though?” the other boy asked suddenly.

“Me?”

“You don’t really talk about your family.”

Ren felt his smile fade away.

It’s true, he didn’t. But he owed something to Akechi… No, it wasn’t that. If it was Akechi, he _wanted_ to tell him. “I guess I don’t like to complain.”

“So you don’t get along, then.”

“You seem surprised,” Ren chuckled despite himself, but the genuine surprise in Akechi’s voice made him feel somewhat lighter.

“Well,” Akechi said, tucking the lock of hair behind the ear, “I admit I might have miscalculated when it comes to certain things about you. And I didn’t really make effort to review my assumptions later. Though, I guess, it would be better to base my knowledge on sources more reliable than assumptions in the first place. Like hearing it from the person involved, themselves.”

It occurred to Ren that maybe Akechi was referring to his outburst of anger and jealousy back in the engine room. His voice seemed slightly apologetic as he spoke.

And Ren still remembered how unfair he thought it was of Akechi to only look at the surface, at who Ren might have seemed to be, even after all the time they spent together talking and hanging out.

It was true that during his stay in Tokyo, thanks to attending Shujin and everything that happened to him, including the Phantom Thieves business, he has finally found people he could truly trust and rely on.

But everything happening back then was pretty new for him too, and getting called out on finally getting taste of it hurt. However, like with everything else, he couldn’t either blame or detest Akechi for it. Big part of the reason being he understood where he was coming from. He knew, somewhere inside, that their roles could have been reversed, had the fate or something beyond it decided that. Even though the experience was painful for Ren, it must have been even more painful for the detective.

It seemed however, that Akechi has been really reflecting on it all in his own ways, that he was trying to get out of his protective shell made of anger and disgust, be it towards others or himself. And, most importantly, he was now willing to actually get to know the truth and confront it with his earlier assumptions. It didn’t have to do anything with him changing, more likely with improving instead.

“It’s no big deal,” Ren assured him, wanting to let him know that he didn’t hold a grudge, and decided to be completely honest, too. “And when I think about it, when I think about your situation, or Futaba’s… actually, everyone’s situation, maybe besides Ann, I realize maybe I’m just selfish and ungrateful.” He felt really weird talking about it, but he already made the decision. Now he just had to follow it through the end. “It’s not like there is no room for improvement at all, between me and parents, it’s not like I can’t put in effort to fix my relationship with them. I just… don’t want to.”

He looked up at Akechi, sort of masochistically expecting to see disappointment or pity on his face, but there was no trace of neither on it. But then, logically speaking, why would there be? If there was someone out there who could understand, maybe even accept his ugly feelings, it was probably him.

“And what is that relationship in the first place?” the detective asked, almost gently.

Ren blinked then looked down at his hands, tightly folded together on the table. He didn’t even realize he was this nervous to talk about it. He relaxed his grip a bit.

“I was always a rather calm and collected kid. Didn’t get in trouble, studied a lot to make my parents happy. Until I realized it wasn’t enough.” He smiled bitterly. “Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t like they were expecting too much from me. They just… didn’t care initially.” Akechi was watching him with a serious expression, void of judgement. “My mother is working as an editor and father is your exemplary salaryman. They are married to their jobs more than they are to each other. And they have never really needed a kid in their life. I heard they got together because it was love at first sight or something, and that they were pretty happy at the beginning. I think they wanted to do something else with their lives, but their families pushed for marriage, and marriage meant I needed to appear sooner or later.” He trailed off for a second, gathering his thoughts.

Akechi was still regarding him with unreadable expression, not taking his gaze away. Knowing that someone is listening to him talk about this, probably for the first time ever, encouraged him to add something that always rested somewhere at the back of his mind. “I think they made a mistake. It’s stupid, isn’t it? My parents had me because their relatives pushed for it, then when what was done was done, the rest of the family just lost the interest. And for mom and dad, I… my presence, I think it destroyed their lives.”

Akechi narrowed his eyes dangerously. And then he kicked Ren under the table, with no small force whatsoever. Ren exclaimed in surprise and reflexively bent down to massage the aching leg.

“You are a greater fool than I imagined,” Akechi stated in a bland voice.

Ren scowled at him, trying to hold back the tears of pain involuntarily forming in the corners of his eyes. If he was going to die here, he will die like a man.

“You are an idiot,” Akechi continued, but this time his tone was softer, and so was his expression. “Calling yourself a mistake, assuming that when no one even said that. Is that what is going through that simple brain of yours? And even if that really was the case,” he hesitated, “even if that was the case, they say sometimes the most beautiful things are born from mistakes,” Akechi finished quietly and his leg met Ren’s again, but this time lighter, like a friendly nudge.

Then the detective averted his gaze suddenly, and Ren realized his tears of pain changed into something else and slowly rolled down his cheeks. He quickly wiped them with the back of his hand and laughed quietly. The detective was never embarrassed to throw the cheeky lines and dramatic moves around.

“I suppose you don’t say that to anyone,” he blurted out, because he had a feeling Akechi would forgive him for that.

Actually, he had a feeling he would forgive him for most of the things now. His character improved a bit since they last saw each other, making him come off as more composed and understanding, even though he always sort of was just that. However, now it seemed more internal and honest, and less like putting up a front. Like he was finally, slowly but surely, finding peace.

At that moment Ren recalled that day, back in February, when Robin Hood and Loki merged inside Akechi’s heart, forming Hereward. The two sides of him, becoming one. Was it the day it started?

“I suppose I don’t.” Came the calm reply and their eyes met again.

“Say, why did you start looking into this Alice Hiiragi case?” Ren asked, suddenly changing the topic. “No, not that, why did you start working as a detective again in the first place? You could have just moved on, gone to uni or college, or something…”

“Give me your best guess.” The other boy smirked at him, not going to make it easy.

“Because you are good at it? Because you love this job?” Ren started guessing. “Because you crave the thrill that comes with danger, and attention from your fans?” he added the last one jokingly, knowing very well that his companion is trying to lay low for now, so it’s not the case.

Akechi snorted lightly and shook his head. “There may be a bit of truth in every one of those,” he admitted with no anger. “But there is something else, too. It’s… my duty of sorts. I have a lot of debts to repay. To you, too.”

“Akechi.” Ren slowly reached out to detective’s hand, laying unguarded – and ungloved – on the table. He wanted to place his own on it, but suddenly discovered he is too much of a coward for this right now, even though he shamelessly grabbed his hand just about an hour earlier. So he only brushed it lightly with his fingertips before retreating in a slight embarrassment. It was probably only his imagination, but he thought he saw Akechi wince under the touch. “I wanted to say… I wanted to tell you that you don’t owe me anything.” The other boy frowned slightly. “But it’s not about me, it’s about you, so if you feel like that’s what you need to do, I will accept it.”

Akechi looked at him with unreadable expression, but it seemed like some of the tension left his shoulders. “Thank you,” he said simply, and Ren felt slightly embarrassed again.

They talked some more about Akechi’s detective work and difficulties he has been facing. After disappearing suddenly and abandoning his tasks without prior notice, it was hard for him to gain the trust he earned before back.

He mentioned hunting for the opportunities through most of April and May, after the school ended and he freed himself from Shido’s people influence. His efforts didn’t prove successful, however, as he lacked credibility, and, simply, was young – just a high school graduate.

Then, at certain occasion, which he still didn’t wish to uncover, the police officer called Tatsuya Suou and his partner, the infamous Jun-san, took him in. The policeman pulled the strings to appoint him his assistant and that’s what he was up to since then.

At least that’s what Ren assumed, because it seemed like Akechi isn’t ready to uncover the whole story just yet. He mentioned that he was, of course, a bit disappointed about having his role reduced to an assistant, but didn’t seem too down about it, having faith that his actual abilities – and sincerity – will be recognized soon enough.

Ren had a hunch there was also something more to it all, this time in terms of the whole Alice Hiiragi investigation, especially looking at how the boy contacted him at a very convenient time. Like if he knew something was going to happen. He wasn’t sure if he should call him out on this, though. Knowing Akechi, he had a plan he was following, and would reveal it at the suitable timing.

After that they talked more about Ren’s family situation again, this time without him getting emotional over it, and the topic naturally moved from there to their school experiences. It turned out that, up until Ren got to Shujin, they were pretty similar – those of the constant outsiders’.

In Akechi’s case it was mostly caused by the need to transfer often. Usually other kids were getting all over him for a while, because getting a new student in class was exciting – it broke the cycle of repeatable, boring school life – and because he was an eye-candy (that part Ren added in his mind), but when it turned out he wasn’t too sociable, they were quickly losing interest.

In case of Ren, he was stuck in one small town for his whole life, and since he was shy and anti-social as a kid, his classmates formed their own circles of friends that never involved him. It continued like this through the years and his image of the quiet kid slowly evolved into that of a loner weirdo. He had some passing acquaintanceships with people, but they never lasted. A person closest to what could be considered a friend moved out during last year of the middle school, and they never contacted each other again.

“I told you before that a girl confessed to me once but I turned her down,” Akechi said, while they slowly walked towards the subway station, after leaving the Jazz Jin. Muhen insisted on their drinks being on the house, but on one condition – they will show their faces around more often.

Ren nodded, breathing in the evening air, heavy of aroma, memory of which made him hungry suddenly. The steamed buns place was nearby. He stopped suddenly and looked at surprised Akechi with the pleading eyes.

“I crave a meat bun,” he whispered conspirationally and detectives eyes went wide for a second before he laughed out loud.

“Sometimes I wonder,” he sighed, gesturing for Ren to lead the way, “if you are even listening to me, especially when you don’t talk for a while, and then change the topic suddenly.”

“I know what you were talking about,” Ren whined while rummaging through his pockets in search for a small change. “You were talking about girls, girls are stupid.” He didn’t really mean what he was saying, but he couldn’t just tell Akechi the topic was making him feel a bit jealous. And by acting stupid, maybe he could get the detective to laugh again.

They stopped before the vendor.

“What are you, five years old?” Akechi snorted and fished out his wallet with ease, looking at Ren triumphantly.

Apparently everything was still a competition between them. So be it.

Ren ordered two of his favorite buns and paid for the both of them before Akechi even got the chance to open his stupid elegant leather wallet.

“Oh look, you didn’t need that.” He blinked innocently while handing one of the buns to the other boy.

Akechi rolled his eyes in response. “I’m paying next time.” His tone was the one that promised instant death upon as much as showing the intention to argue.

Ren smiled to his bun before biting it, not commenting on the other promise that sentence held. He chewed carefully before speaking again. “There was this one girl back in the first year of high school. She was new, so she didn’t know yet that I’m the black sheep in the town. She was pretty sociable, got herself many friends fast, and for some reason she talked to me, too.” He glanced at Akechi but the detective was busy eating. He understood now what he meant before, complaining about Ren not listening. But, same as Akechi, Ren knew that his companion was still paying attention. “She said I’m a cool guy and that I’m just misunderstood, so she will help me to clear my name,” he chuckled and chewed on his bun again.

“From what you were saying before, it didn’t seem there was a need for you to clear up anything,” Akechi used the occasion to comment, his brows furrowed.

“See, she wasn’t as smart as you,” Ren pointed out and detective rolled his eyes from over his bun, for the umpteenth time today. “But, honestly speaking, I think she just had that image of me being, uh… the mysterious, slightly dangerous outsider that she can fix with the power of love, or something.”

Akechi choked on his bun and Ren had to pat his back a bit while he bent his whole body, coughing.

“Akechi, uh, are you okay?” he asked, unsure and a bit scared that he’s going to choke to death, after detective spent a good few moments folded over and with his whole body shaking.

“I’m… I’m alright,” Akechi assured while straightening up and coughed again. That was when Ren realized he was being made fun of, as detective’s voice was wavering with restrained laughter.

“Seriously?” Ren asked and crossed his arms, feeling somewhat pouty. “I didn’t know you were like this,” his voice sounded accusatory, “In my opinion, that image suits me very well.” Before, he thought it was pretty embarrassing and somewhat stupid, too, but seeing Akechi’s reaction he suddenly felt the need to defend the image.

“I don’t know about before,” Akechi said, discreetly wiping his eyes, “but yes, it certainly does suit you. Tall, handsome, but hiding behind those ugly glasses, surrounded with rumors of the dark past befitting a true delinquent.“ His tone was the one people usually used to talk to small kids or animals.

“You are making fun of me,” Ren pouted, but inside his chest, his heart fluttered with joy and warmth.

“Did I ever mention that you are unbelievably perceptive?” Akechi asked in all seriousness and when Ren made a face at him, he chuckled again.

They walked the rest of the way to the station in silence, but it was the comfortable one, the kind that felt better uninterrupted with any words. Only when they already parted their ways, Ren realized he didn’t figure out why did Akechi start this particular topic in the first place.

* * *

After getting some (not too serious) scolding from Sojiro for not helping out for the whole day again, Ren cleaned up the café in the name of reconciliation. After that, he took Morgana to the bathhouse for a long dip and now just kept lying awake on his small attic bed. It was too hot to sleep just yet, even with the sun long gone from over the horizon, so he tried to drag his friend into a conversation.

Morgana rolled eyes at him, probably, as he didn’t see it in the darkness of the room, and reluctantly let himself get involved, under the condition it won’t take too long. He definitely didn’t want Ren to succumb into bad sleeping schedule only because of the vacations.

“So, what is it?” he asked with a sigh, and Ren let go of his tail, which he has been teasingly tugging at to get Morgana’s attention.

“Say, Mona,” now that he was given the permission to speak, some of the courage left him suddenly, “you like Ann, right?”

“Well, excuse me, of course? Who _doesn’t_ like lady Ann?” Mona huffed like if Ren’s levels of brainlessness reached the point of no return.

“That’s not what I meant. I meant it like… you know, romantically.”

There was a long minute of silence.

“Why are you asking me that so suddenly?” Mona sat up, a cat step away from his side.

“I thought about how you’ve been always saying that but… I don’t know, I have a feeling we never talked about it seriously.”

“I…” Morgana’s sounded hesitant. “To be honest, I’m not sure. Lady Ann is a gentle girl with the heart of gold. She is accepting and open, but you know. Since it became apparent I’m not really a human as I thought before…” His voice broke down a bit. “When I gained the human form in Maruki’s reality, I thought about it. That it’s my chance finally to be something more than just a cat. In this body, I’m useless, I don’t even have opposable thumbs.” He sighed. “As I am now, I try to not think about those things anymore. My body is cat-shaped and it means what it means. There is no one else like me, and I will be a forever alone. Or with… with you, as long as you want me around.”

Ren felt like an utter fool. It was definitely not the outcome of the conversation he predicted when he tried to ask Mona for some advice regarding Akechi. And even worse was the realization that Mona had to deal with all this throughout all the time they spent together, and he didn’t once think about asking. Even if they lived together for over a year now.

He felt his eyes watering a bit at the slightly helpless tone of his friend’s voice. Ren reached out and grabbed Mona, then hugged him close to his chest despite the heat and cat’s protests.

“Oh gods, I’m so sorry, Mona,” he said quietly into the warm fur, and Morgana went still, listening. “You are right when you call me a moron. I had no idea it bothered you this much. Also, don’t ever say again that you are useless. Without you there we wouldn’t get anywhere near close to where we did as the Phantom Thieves. You are basically our founder, the one who pushed us to form the group, did you forget? And you are always something more, you are the brain of our operations, our guide, and damn, you are everyone’s friend. And of course I want you around. And… And maybe there is still a way to get you a nice human body,” he suggested, almost as helplessly as Mona gave his answer.

His cat ears perked up a bit with hope, or maybe it was appreciation of Ren’s efforts to cheer him up, then his paw landed on Ren’s brow and pushed him away.

“Okay, okay, now let me go, it’s s hot and it’s gross, let go,” he whined and Ren let him out of the hug, feeling some of the cat hair on the tongue. “First, don’t give promises you won’t be able to fulfill, you moron. You should have learned that lesson plenty until now,” Morgana scolded. “Second…” he trailed off, sounding a bit embarrassed. “Thanks, Ren. I didn’t want to complain.”

“You didn’t, dumbass.” Ren rolled to the side and looked at his friend. “Everyone has those moments of doubt. Or feeling lonely, even with everyone around. I’m always here to listen if that’s what you need.”

Mona waved his tail gently, then sighed. “So,” his tone was back to it’s usual sharpness, “what was it about? It’s my turn to return the favor.”

“Oh, right,” Ren tried to push his thoughts back on the original track. “I don’t really know how to say that. You know how… uh… me and Akechi, we always had that sort of special connection between us. So I’ve been wondering, it didn’t start just now, it was before too, even before Maruki’s reality and… what I want to say is… uh…” he trailed off, noticing how his words probably barely made any sense now.

“So you want to say that you like Akechi.” Mona deadpanned.

“Yes. No. Wait, what—”

“Ren.” Mona headbutted him in the chest with enough force to make him roll back on his back, then smacked his forehead with one paw. “Ren, you really are a moron. Like, a definition of the dumbass.”

Ren opened his mouth but no sound came out of it, so he closed it again. Then he sighed heavily.

“I know,” he admitted. “So, you knew. About Akechi, I mean.”

“I’m pretty sure you knew too,” Morgana shuffled on the sheets preparing to lay down a few centimeters to his side.

“Yeah. I guess.”

“So that’s it? I want to sleep.”

“You said you will listen to me in a need, you traitor,” Ren pouted.

“Ren, for gods’ sake, you are not in a need, at least not from me. Just talk to the guy himself about it.”

“I’m sure your advice is worth at least my weight in gold, but at the same time I’m afraid it can’t be that easy,” he chuckled quietly.

“Mhm, you will figure it out,” Mona murmured sleepily and soon his breathing turned deeper and more steady, leaving Ren alone with his thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I... feel like there is a looot of cheese (soft cheese at that) in this one, I hope you didn't mind... XD 
> 
> Next time: The Thieves visit the TV station and confront Alice in person!


	10. TV Station

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I suppose they are going to suspect you in the first place. Since you were the leader of the infamous Phantom Thieves.”
> 
> “That’s great. Maybe we should just invite them to go on the Metaverse trip together with us? Since it seems like they will be dropping by very soon anyways.”

When he woke up the next day, there was someone in the room other than him and Morgana.

“How the hell did you get here?” Ren asked, a bit hoarsely, trying to blink away the fog left in his eyes by the sleep.

“Through the front door,” Akechi replied simply. He was sitting comfortably on the sofa, legs crossed, and didn’t even lift his gaze up at Ren while he spoke. Morgana the Unreliable Alarm Clock was sitting right next to him, also following something on the screen of detective’s phone with his eyes.

Ren felt around for his own to check the time, but he didn’t find it under the pillow. He looked at Akechi and Mona again.

“That’s _my_ phone,” he stated, to no-one’s amusement.

“We’ve noticed,” Akechi replied blandly, still not looking at him. Just what were they watching there?

“I helped him unlock,” Morgana added proudly, as if it was even something to be proud of.

“So you decided to switch to picking electronic locks now, huh?” Ren asked, feeling sort of defeated, and laid one hand on his forehead.

Was it his fault, for not telling Mona that him liking Akechi didn’t equal giving him unlimited access to his phone? What will go next, his bank account?

“Yeah, also, your mom called,” Mona updated him like nothing strange happened.

“We’ve rejected it,” Akechi supported.

 _We_? So were they what, best buddies now? Ren brought up the other hand to his face and hid it in his palms, then groaned. And it was only morning. He didn’t even leave the bed yet.

“Oh, Ren is awake? Good morning!” came Sophia’s voice.

“Hey Sophia, what are they doing there?” Ren couldn’t contain his curiosity any longer, even though the situation seemed pretty comical. They were all in the same room, only air in the way of Ren finding out what the others were up to, and yet the mystery was still there.

“We’ve been checking the news from this month,” she answered simply, and upon noticing she has also been made an accomplice, Ren decided it’s a good time to try getting up. His back hurt a bit, since he didn’t get used to the “bed’s” hard surface again yet.

When he managed to stand up, from his new outlook he noticed the photo album he found on the first day back in Tokyo. It was laying on top of the old TV. So Akechi has been looking through it.

“And why didn’t you just check on Akechi’s phone?” Ren asked a few seconds later, going through his luggage in search for a fresh t-shirt.

“Because they needed me!” Sophia exclaimed proudly and he could imagine her jumping up and down without looking. He smiled to himself at the thought.

“Akechi knows some stuff from the police,” Morgana explained and jumped off the sofa, “so we’ve decided to see how many of the suspicious incidents were reported in the media. Also where, and when exactly.” He sounded worried, so Ren looked up at him.

“There is something I didn’t tell you,” Akechi admitted, confirming Ren’s suspicions from the day before. “Apart from the Alice incidents, there have been others occurring. The problem is…”

“It’s been happening all over Japan, Ren,” Morgana cut in and waved his tail anxiously.

Ren, who has been squatting over his luggage all the time, turned to face others fully and sat down on the floor.

“All. Over Japan?” he echoed.

“It doesn’t look good, Joker,” Sophia said, her face worried. Akechi turned the screen of Ren’s phone towards him, so he could also see the girl.

“We are 100% sure already that the Metaverse is involved, right?” Ren asked. “We are just going to the TV station today to try and find some final confirmation on what’s been going on, and to see if Alice is aware of her influence over people. Whether she is, or isn’t, we can deal with it, it’s not the first time. We will figure it out. But it’s _here_ , in Tokyo. How are we supposed to do something about stuff happening around _the whole country_?”

No one seemed to know the answer. The silence that followed felt heavy and troubled. Akechi was the one who broke it first.

“For the meantime, I suggest we focus on the matter at hand. There is no use worrying over something we can’t do anything about right now. And even if we could travel immediately, we can’t bilocate.” Akechi stood up. “Unless, of course, you are not telling me something.”

Ren was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he didn’t even catch Akechi trying to lighten the mood with a joke. He ruffled his already messy curls in irritation and stood up.

“Okay,” he said, trying to calm down the whirlpool of questions and ideas trying to overtake his mind, “okay,” he repeated, “is there something else you didn’t tell us?”

Akechi stayed silent for a moment, then looked at Ren’s phone. “Sophia-chan, excuse me, I’m turning it off for now.”

“Oke~ See you later, Crow!” she replied with the usual energy.

Akechi locked the phone and handed it over to Ren. Detective and Morgana exchanged meaningful looks and Ren barely held back from rolling his eyes. How long did he sleep to miss so much?

“A lot of incidents carry similarities to a chain of events from the last year,” said Akechi finally and Ren had a hunch he knows which events he meant. “The cases… are sudden, and they involve people suddenly acting in ways unexpected of them.”

Ren felt his heartbeat quickening. “Like the… psychotic breakdowns…?” It would be a disaster. If there was another persona user carrying similar abilities to Akechi out there, using their powers to cause turmoil, would they be able to stop them?

“Actually,” this time Mona spoke up, “they seem a bit more like… changes of heart…”

“What?” Ren almost sat down on the floor again. “Someone is changing hearts?”

“We don’t know that for sure,” Akechi shook his head. “The incidents carry both certain similarities and differences between each other. It seems that there are…” he hesitated, “more perpetrators than one, too.”

Ren turned away from him and walked up to the side of the bed, where the shopping bag from yesterday rested on the floor.

“So we are dealing with the problem on the scale of the country. And most likely organized by a group of people with supernatural abilities. Perfect.”

“Ren, that’s not the issue,” Morgana said, following him to the bed. “I mean, that’s one of the issues too, but what’s more important, you know what it means, right? The police also connected the facts.”

Ren picked out one of his new knee-length pants and sat down heavily on the bed, dropping the clothes next to him. The strange numbness was starting to overcome his body.

“They are going to suspect us,” he concluded, and Akechi nodded in confirmation.

“I suppose they are going to suspect _you_ in the first place. Since you were the leader of the infamous Phantom Thieves. Your identity is the only one confirmed and existing in the official documents. You also have a criminal record, no matter fake or not.”

“That’s great. Maybe we should just invite them to go on the Metaverse trip together with us? Since it seems like they will be dropping by very soon anyways.” Ren laughed humorlessly.

“Ren, it’s not a joking matter,” Morgana scolded him, but he still sounded more worried than angry.

“I really don’t want to have anything to do with the police, ever again,” he retorted, half-consciously bringing his hand up to the once strongly bruised ribs. Akechi averted his gaze with a slight frown.

“You should watch out for yourself, and avoid walking around alone,” the detective advised, still not quite looking at him.

“Is that why you are here now? I don’t need your escort, thanks. Morgana will watch my back,” Ren scowled.

Akechi flinched and finally looked back at him, crossing his arms. The irritation on his face was becoming more and more apparent with every word. “If you are sulking over the fact that I haven’t told you about this earlier, then you should reconsider. If not for _me_ , you wouldn’t ever know. Not until bumping straight into the officers.”

“Yeah, thanks, Akechi, you saved my miserable excuse of life with this, I’m forever grateful. And now, get out.”

The silence thick with tension fell upon the room and Ren realized his words came off a lot harsher than detective probably deserved. He felt a slight touch of embarrassment heat up his cheeks. “Uh, sorry, guys, I didn’t mean it that way.” He fiddled with his bangs. “But seriously, go down to the café, I will join you soon, I need to dress up first.”

When he finally did, later emerging from the small toilet downstairs after brushing his teeth, he noted with surprise they weren’t the only ones in the café. Akechi was sitting in one of the booths, drinking Sojiro’s coffee with Mona at his side. Boss himself flipped through the canals on TV, sometimes glancing sideways at the customer at the counter.

It was a man Ren never saw here before, and it felt a bit strange to see someone like him there. More so, it was still early in the morning. The only early customers were usually the elder couple – the regulars. From Sojiro’s behavior he also assumed it wasn’t someone that became one of the loyal customers during Ren’s absence.

Ren slid into the kitchen, throwing one curious glance and a ‘good morning’ at the man, who was busying himself with curry. He then took a small portion of it for himself from the pot, and joined Akechi and Mona at the booth. He ate in silence while detective sipped his coffee, and Morgana didn’t try to talk either. He assumed it was because of the stranger, and wondered if they are becoming collectively paranoid now, after the earlier talk.

The man had dark, shoulder-length, wavy hair, was wearing frameless glasses and a black suit. He could have been anything. From the salaryman dropping by after the all-nighter at work, to a police investigator. They wouldn’t be able to tell unless he pulled his badge out on them and attempted to arrest Ren. He didn’t give them as much as a single glance, though, completely immersed in his meal. Even with the eyes of everyone else in the room on him. Ren sort of admired the man’s composure, whoever he was.

The three of them left the café without getting into trouble, and although none of them brought the man or the topic of possible surveillance up, it seemed like they all deemed him suspicious nonetheless.

On the way to the TV station they went over the plan they came up with the day before in the Diner once again. They were going to meet up with Ann and Ryuji in front of the building and hand the Mona in the bag over to them, then go their separate ways. Ann, Ryuji and Morgana would be a part of the audience, while Ren and Akechi, thanks to Sumire’s father’s kindness, will play pretend as the staff members.

Yoshizawa-san didn’t know about their true plan – he thought they were just Alice enthusiasts who didn’t manage to get their passes to the show in time, and his daughter’s good friends. Thus, he agreed to do them a favor. There was only one condition – they were going to help setting up the stage and not cause any trouble.

When they arrived at the meeting point, Ann and Ryuji were already waiting for them, engaged in their own conversation.

“Yo, good to see you guys on time,” Ryuji greeted and took the Mona bag over from Ren. “That takes me back, huh? Even the squad is the same as the last time…” He grinned at this joke played on them by fate.

“Excited?” Ren asked, forcing a nonchalant smile onto his face. He still didn’t message others on the group chat about the news from Akechi.

“Nah,” Ryuji shook his head and carefully put the bag on his shoulder, Morgana already poking his head out to look around. “After what we saw in the Jail? I think I’m never gonna trust idols again.” He sighed heavily.

“I still can’t wrap my head around it,” Ann’s voice sounded resigned but stubborn hope brightened her eyes up nonetheless. “I specifically requested this entry from my manager because I sympathized with Alice. I wanted to hear her live, see the same passion I sensed from the interviews, but in person. I had a feeling we have something in common.” She averted her gaze. “I believe you guys, of course, but some part of me still wants to cling on to hope. It’s dumb, isn’t it?”

Ryuji patted her arm encouragingly and Akechi, being himself, decided to speak up.

“There is nothing wrong with looking up to idols as they appear on the screen,” he said indifferently. He probably didn’t want to purposely start anything, but coming from his mouth, the words seemed to gain a different kind of credibility. “But it’s not uncommon for their public persona to differ significantly from how they act in private. It’s probably better to discern the two and not dig too deep into the latter.”

Ann looked up at him with a warm smile, not looking specifically hurt or offended by his words. “I know, Akechi-kun. But as I said, I had a feeling… maybe it’s some sort of intuition. I will confirm it by myself today.”

* * *

Ren met Yoshizawa-san only once before – a stylishly elegant, well-mannered man. He was still wearing the same red-framed glasses Sumire picked for him with Ren.

“You are Sumire’s friends she mentioned yesterday, right? I’m sorry I couldn’t do more for you, I hear you have been a great help to her.” He extended his hand to Ren and squeezed it in a short, formal handshake. “I believe we’ve met before. Amamiya-san, was it?” Ren nodded and the man moved to Akechi. “And you… Akechi-san?” His shock was apparent, coloring both his voice and expression.

“It’s been a while, Yoshizawa-san,” Akechi smiled his TV smile at the man and also accepted a handshake.

“Indeed!” Sumire’s father exclaimed, smiling warmly. “You’ve been a frequent guest to our morning show before. Akechi-san, we owe a lot in regard of building up its popularity to you. If only I knew beforehand…”

“Please don’t worry about it, Yoshizawa-san,” Akechi’s tone was all gentle reassurance. “I’m here today as a spectator, and you are already making us a big favor.”

“I must admit though, I’m surprised you are a fan of Alice-chan, Akechi-san!” The man laughed gently and understandingly – they were still young boys after all – and even though he didn’t mean any offence, Ren noted the corner of Akechi’s lips twitch. He bit his own lips to not grin at the sight.

Yoshizawa-san was in a hurry – he was the director of the show, after all – and so he left soon, apologizing for not being able to be of more assistance. A staff member showed them to the backstage and handed them their own staff shirts and badges, then gave instructions on the tasks assigned to them.

For half an hour they were moping the floor, carrying the cables and water bottles for the guests, and helping out with other small errands. Then, when the room finally opened for the audience, they watched over the seating arrangements. Ryuji waved to them with a wide, toothy grin on his face, and when Ren waved back, Akechi pinched the bridge of his nose and looked away, mumbling under his breath something about working with idiots.

When the show started, the two of them lurked around one of the big speakers on the side, the spot allowing them to have a good view at the stage and their target.

Alice walked in dressed in the same costume she was wearing the day before, greeted by the wave of enthusiastic cheers from the audience. She was smiling sweetly all the time, not getting out of the role even for a second.

The two hosts asked her questions. An engaged and soon-to-be-married couple, as Akechi informed him in a low whisper. They didn’t inquire on anything unusual – it was all about her rapidly rising popularity, the inspirations behind designed clothes. Alice admitted her namesake, Alice in Wonderland, to be one of them and greatly expanded on the idea of fashion being a sort of gateway to the land of dreams. In her opinion, wearing good clothes allowed people to become someone different.

Ren, a dress-up enthusiast himself, couldn’t really disagree with her point. He knew that Akechi felt similar about the matter too, as he mentioned before that his dressing choices were influenced a lot by the fact he was working with adults. It was all a part of the image he had to uphold.

Then, Alice’s story took a more personal turn, as she spoke about discovering new parts of oneself by wearing unusual clothes. About what first sparked interest in design in her. She revealed that, while at school, she has been alienated and didn’t have friends. She kept wanting to change, but couldn’t find the courage to. Then, one day, she found a beautiful dress in a store, and that same dress changed her whole life. Trying it on and seeing herself in it made her feel like she has been put under a spell – she realized even someone like her could really change.

The feelings she experienced back then became her inspiration later, as she started designing clothes. She wished for her clothes to help others like herself gain confidence and courage to change. She wanted to become someone’s light.

Her speech made Ren realize what Ann has meant when she said she thought her and Alice were similar. He heard it from her before, after all, when she decided to start working hard to become a respected model. Ann, too, wished to give others strength. They shared the same dream.

He was trying to pick out Ann’s face among the audience, when some sort of commotion started on the stage. Akechi’s sudden grip on his arm made him refocus on Alice.

But there was nothing wrong with Alice. The issue was the male host.

He wasn’t sitting on the small sofa next to his fiancée anymore. Instead, he was on his all fours on the floor, kneeling before Alice.

“Alice-chan!” he shouted, voice further magnified by the speakers. The murmur from the audience, which Ren only now realized was filling the air with a constant buzz, intensified. “Alice-chan, I love you! Please go out with me!”

Ren shot a surprised look at Akechi. One glance at his face was enough of an answer to the question that didn’t even manage to leave his lips yet. Detective was smirking, self-satisfactory, like his thesis just got confirmed. It meant that what they were witnessing right now was the effect of having one’s wish stolen.

“Alice-chan, I’m begging you! I never felt this strongly about anyone ever before!” the male host wailed miserably on the ground. The hostess was getting more and more red on the face, until she couldn’t bear the situation anymore.

“What are you saying?!” she cried out as she got on her feet, and started forcefully pulling at man’s jacket. “What about me?!”

All this time Alice was just sitting there, watching the show calmly with polite confusion. She didn’t move an inch, even though the normal person would get startled, at least.

“I think that’s all the confirmation we needed,” Akechi told Ren, his voice not even a whisper anymore, as the commotion both on stage and audience was gaining volume with each passing second. “Let’s go, we can call the security to take care of this and get out of here ourselves.”

They were making their way towards the entrance, when Akechi stopped suddenly. Ren almost bumped into him, then realized. They paused at the exact same spot they talked for the first time. Over a year ago, when Akechi walked up to him to get his number.

“That’s where we talked for the first time,” Akechi said pensively, as if reading Ren’s mind.

“Right, Hegel.” Ren couldn’t contain a small smile pushing its way onto his face. It wasn’t the best time for indulging in sentimentalities, though. “Let’s go, before things get ugly,” he urged, tugging at Akechi’s shirt, and they moved on.

* * *

They met up with Ann, Ryuji and Morgana a few minutes later in the corridor. Or Ren did, because Akechi suddenly told him to go alone and disappeared somewhere.

“Maaan, the heck happened there? Did you see that? That host dude went batshit crazy.” Ryuji sounded like a man who lost his trust in humanity forever.

Ann was standing aside silently, absentmindedly petting Morgana’s head perking up from the bag the boy was still carrying.

“Akechi said it’s our confirmation and, honestly, I too think we saw enough,” Ren agreed. He really wanted to go back to Leblanc already and just work for the rest of the day. He had a lot to think through. The thing was, he suspected it would be best to act on the case as fast as possible instead.

“It was a live broadcast, wasn’t it?” Ann asked suddenly.

“Yeah,” Morgana squinted a bit. “Confessing like this all of a sudden… something really isn’t right. I think it’s a safe bet for us to say that the guy’s wish was stolen.”

“One thing is bothering me,” Ann admitted and locked her eyes on the floor. “He wasn’t acting like this before, only started at the very specific moment… do you think… did it look to you like Alice was controlling him?”

“Now that you say it like this…” Ryuji scratched his head.

“It matches the pattern, doesn’t it?” Morgana said. “From what you guys said, the wishes are taken from people, then given to Alice. And after that happens, she can control them! As expected of Lady Ann!”

Ann gave him a weak smile in response. She seemed really upset about the whole thing.

“What’s on your mind?” Ren asked her, seeing how apparent the battle she fought within her mind became on her face.

She shook her head with a small sigh. “She said she wanted to become someone’s light. Was it… was it all a lie…?” She looked at him like she was asking him to deny.

“I don’t know, Ann, maybe there is more to-“

Suddenly, a loud laughter came to their ears. Someone was in the corridor crossing with the one they were currently in.

“Let’s hide” Ann mouthed to Ren and Ryuji and they nodded quickly then glued themselves to the wall to look around the corner. It reminded Ren of what they used to do in the Palaces all the time.

“You should really stop doing this already, Alice-san,” came the very distressed voice of a man accompanying Alice, probably her manager. “I don’t know how you are doing it, but it’s really-“

Ren frowned. The guy was protesting, but it seemed weak and fearful. Alice was neither tall nor imposing in any way. And yet something about her horrified the grown-out man like him so much.

“Whaat? What are you saying?” Alice asked in a sugary and dismissive manner, yet with the hints of joy in her voice still apparent. “I’m the victim here, I didn’t do anything! Did you see that guy crawling at my feet? Sooo embarrassing! But more importantly, that woman’s face? Hilarious!” The echo of her laughter rang through the corridor again.

“This- she’s having a blast!” Ryuji spat quietly through the gritted teeth. His palms formed into fists but he still didn’t move, careful not to blow their cover.

“A-Alice-san, I think it’s going too far, n-nevermind your image, b-but…!”

“Huuh?” Her voice was still sweet but now it took on a new, dangerous note to it. “I told you I’m not doing anything? Why aren’t you listening?” She made an exaggerated pose, like a little kid pouting. “Oh! I know! You want to get hurt again?” She took a step towards the man and he started backing off, visibly in more and more distress.

“N-no, no, please, forgive me! Forgive me…!” The panic in his voice was apparent. He got down on his knees, but Alice didn’t stop at that. She pushed him to the ground until his back hit the floor and then stepped on his stomach with no small force whatsoever, judging by the look on the man’s face.

“Oh no, I stepped on you by accident!” Alice still didn’t drop the cute princess act, but her tone got more forceful. “Listen, that was just a coincidence, back there, don’t you agree? I think you should, right? Isn’t it your job to do what I tell you? Or maybe you want me to break you, like I did with my old manager, hm?”

“S-stop it please…!” the manager cried in pain.

“Oh well,” Alice said, quieter, like she got bored of him, “I’m not interested in toys that don’t listen to me anyways…” She raised her foot but then stomped it back on the man, making him cry in pain again. “Now, apologize to me! I’m the one who’s hurt, I’m the victim here! Apologize, or I won’t stop, I will make you cry like you did yesterday…”

Observing the situation passively was hard already, but something in her words made an even more unpleasant feeling awaken in Ren’s guts. Break a person? So that was her true face? And those words about treating people like toys, casting them away if they are not obedient. The thing Akechi pointed out the day before.

Ren was just about to say something, tell others they heard enough and should intervene, but Ann brushed past him before he even got the chance to open his mouth.

“Stop it!” she cried out, running towards Alice and the manager still sprawled on the ground under her heel. “You are hurting him!”

Both Alice and the man paused in shock for a moment. Then the girl turned towards Ann, her eyes going even rounder when she noticed Ren and Ryuji following her.

“Oh, you are…” Alice started, her voice sounding the most natural Ren ever heard until now. She was quick to get back on the act, though. She laughed dismissively, but the hint of nervousness was there, too. “Please don’t misunderstand, we were just playing arou-“

“That’s enough!” Ann shouted, cutting her off. Ryuji looked like he wanted to say something too, but for some reason he kept unusually quiet and just stood behind her like a bodyguard. Morgana growled from the bag.

“So what you’ve said,” Ann’s voice was heavy with disappointment, accusatory, “about becoming someone’s light, was it all a lie?!”

Alice looked at her in shock, like if she only now truly saw her. “I-I just said, we were only playing around, right?” she laughed nervously and turned to the manager. He stood up in the meantime and didn’t move, head hanging down in embarrassment. Or maybe defeat. He nodded weakly when Alice addressed him. “Then you can go first,” she said, but even though her tone was light, he followed it like an order.

“Oi, wait!” Ryuji called out after him, but the man sped up without as much as a single glance behind, and disappeared in the next corridor. Ryuji clicked his tongue and all of the eyes set on Alice again. Her gaze was focused on Ann.

“Are you by any chance… Ann Takamaki-san?” she asked, making their jaws drop.

“H-huh? You know about me?” Ann flustered and Alice beamed immediately.

“As I thought! Of course I know you, I follow a lot of fashion magazines!”

She seemed genuinely excited, but Ren didn’t really trust her anymore. The pain mixing with surprise on Ann’s face steeled that resolve. If Alice was similar to the Palace rulers, something in her heart must have gotten distorted, and there was no telling her true intentions.

“I used to really look up to you!” Alice said with a wide smile and Ren couldn’t help but notice the past tense. “Say, would you like to be friends?” she proposed, and Ren blinked at the audacity. After what they just saw her do?

Ryuji’s fists tightened but he still didn’t interfere. Morgana ruffled in the closed bag, probably ready to jump out on the first opportunity and claw Alice’s eyes out for hurting Ann’s feelings.

Ann herself went silent for a moment and when Ren looked at her he could have sworn he saw the last threads of hope dying in her eyes. What replaced them, though, was pure determination.

“No,” She stated firmly, with enough power in her voice to make Alice flinch and step back.

Alice realized what she just did and smiled widely again to cover it up. Then, she reached to the pocket of her costume and fished a card out of it, the exact same kind she was giving away at the meeting.

Ren gritted his teeth. So she was lying, after all. She wanted to give Ann the card under the false pretense of becoming friends and then steal her wish, make the model another one of her obedient puppets. Too bad they knew better already, and it wouldn’t work on Metaverse users like them anyways.

“You know EMA, right?” Alice outstretched the card towards Ann. “My friend keyword is-“

“God, stop it already!” Ryuji hit his limit of patience apparently as he took a step ahead and snatched the card from Alice’s hand. “After all we saw just now, how can you pretend to just-“ he suddenly went silent when Ann placed one hand on his arm and shook her head.

“I have to refuse,” she told Alice, looking her in the face, unwavering. “I can’t accept someone who does such horrible things to others.”

“Ouch, that hurts!” the other girl said, no trace of pain in her voice whatsoever. “But I appreciate the honesty.” She looked at Ren and Ryuji. “And what about you two boys? Do you want to become friends with me?” Her eyelashes fluttered coquettishly.

“Don’t fuck with us,” Ryuji spat angrily and crossed his arms on the chest. Ren shook his head, thinking if there was something more they could do, right there, right now.

“Come to think of it, you look familiar…” Alice tilted her head and brought a finger to her cheek.

“That’s enough.” Ann trembled with carefully contained fury as she caught Ryuji’s arm with one hand and Ren’s with other. “We have no further business here, let’s go.” She tugged at them and together they turned their backs on Alice and walked away, leaving her alone in the corridor.

Ren couldn’t get the thought out of his mind that Alice remembered them from yesterday’s event at Shibuya 705. What could it mean for them, though? Did she know about the existence of the Metaverse? Could she suspect they have powers similar to her own?

They didn’t know anything at all about the Jails, but if they worked similar to Palaces, maybe the unconscious feeling of upcoming threat would change somewhere inside, like strengthening the security levels. If that was the case, then they have made a big mistake by showing their faces in front of her again. It was too late to regret it now, though. What was done was done.

* * *

Akechi was waiting for them outside the building, taking in Ann’s angry expression with only a slight raise of an eyebrow.

“Where is Morgana?” he asked, even though he could have asked what happened to make them all look a bit out of it, and Ren was thankful for that.

“Oh, right,” Ryuji said, seemingly still a little distracted, and handed the bag over to Ren, who unzipped it hurriedly.

Mona’s head popped out of the bag as he took in a deep breath. “Whew, I thought I will suffocate in there. Why are they not allowing pets- I mean- uh.” He trailed off grumpily.

“Sorry, Mona,” Ren apologized and scratched him behind the ears. “You heard everything okay back there, right?”

Morgana nodded and shot a look at Akechi. “And where have _you_ been while we’ve dealt with Alice trampling over her manager, huh?”

“Right, dude, you’ve missed the-“ Ryuji started, but Akechi smirked impishly, making him stop in the middle of the sentence.

“I did not miss anything, in fact,” he said. Judging from his face, everything he was up to in the meantime worked out according to his plan. Whatever it was.

“So you were watching that, too?” Ryuji scratched his head in confusion, while Ren just looked at detective’s face. Their eyes met for a moment.

“Some of it. Though the full story will have to wait until everyone gathers up, as I don’t like to repeat myself,” Akechi said and Ren barely held back a sigh. He was definitely doing it on purpose.

Ren took his phone out. After greeting Sophia briefly, he opened the group chat to inform others they were done in the TV station already and they should meet up soon to discuss what happened.

“Anyways, that’s not important,” Ryuji cut in, and Akechi frowned, probably confused as of why did his adventures get labelled as unimportant, “are you doin’ alright, Ann? You know, with all this Alice stuff.” He furrowed his brows, like he was trying to solve some sort of problem.

Everyone looked at her, waiting for the response and the sudden attention shift startled her a bit.

“Oh, you all,” Ann said softly and put her arms around herself. “Sorry for making you worried. I’m… I’m okay, I guess. I’m just super disappointed. But at the same time, just like Mona said before, we are the only ones who can do something about this situation, right? So I’m determined now, too. After seeing it with my own eyes, hearing with my own ears, I’m convinced that I was right.”

“Huh?” Ren didn’t expect that answer, and he saw in other’s faces they didn’t, either. “How come?” He rubbed the back of his neck.

“I know what she did to her manager but honestly, I think her words back there, her dream, I think it was genuine.” She frowned. “I don’t know if it makes any sense, but it feels like… there is something more to it. How she kept saying she was the victim…”

“Weren’t those only empty words, though? A simple manipulation?” Akechi raised his eyebrows. “It seems to me that her way of thinking is pretty twisted at this point. She is undoubtedly the one causing harm to others and, what is more, she is taking satisfaction in it. What exactly is there to pity?”

“That’s true, I’m not denying it. She _is_ doing bad things to people. But the other thing you said? That’s it, that’s actually what I mean!” Ann defended.

“You mean what he said about her being twisted?” Ren inquired, but then a thought came across his mind. “But that’s… wait, unless you mean…”

“For real, guys, I have no idea what are y’all talkin’ about…” Ryuji sighed and shook his head.

“Lady Ann,” Morgana spoke up, ignoring the boy, “do you mean to emphasize the part where her way of thinking _got_ twisted? Like, something made her change?”

“I- I don’t know, honestly. We don’t know much about those Jails yet, but if they aren’t exactly the same as Palaces… maybe we should really consider Alice also being a victim in all this?” Ann sounded unsure, but hopeful. Her words reminded Ren of his talk with Akechi, about the meaning behind the Jail’s name. “I want to help her. If we can do it, if we can change her heart, I want to do it. And I want you guys to help me.” She looked at them with fire in her eyes.

“That’s what we do, Ann,” Ren assured her and smiled.

Before, they were so focused on helping other people and punishing the criminals. It was hard to feel any sympathy towards most of their targets. But maybe changing Alice’s heart could be also treated as a way of saving her, be it from her own self, or something else. It was proven to them in the past - not all Palace rulers were evil. Both Futaba and Sae-san were more like the victims to the harsh circumstances. And even though their distorted desires haven’t pushed them to commit any crimes by the time the Thieves intervened, maybe with time they would have. There was no reason to assume right from the start that Alice was rotten to the core already. Maybe she too, as Ann said, had her own circumstances. Maybe it wasn’t too late for her yet.

Ren laughed quietly. “I feel so stupid now,” he admitted aloud. “Ann, you really are the best.” He grinned at her.

“Wha-what is it, suddenly?” she startled and a slight blush came up on her cheeks. “I didn’t do anything.”

“Lady Ann has the most gentle and noble heart of all!” Morgana exclaimed, making Ann even more flustred.

“I see,” Akechi said quietly, and Ren had impression only he heard his words, as Ann, Ryuji and Morgana engaged in a playful banter. “Thinking outside of the box like this.” The detective met his eyes. “I suppose it counts as a failure on my part, not considering this sort of option.”

Ren scratched his head. They were apparently thinking the same thing. “I wouldn’t call it a failure, exactly? As long as you are able to accept a new view…”

“It’s foolish,” Akechi cut him off, something firm residing deep in his gaze. “Maybe it’s just a wishful thinking, with yet another disappointment waiting at the end.” Suddenly, he averted his eyes and his tone softened. “But I guess that’s what you are made of. The Phantom Thieves of Hearts. Hope born from… virtuous sentimentality.”

Ren chuckled at the unusual choice of words. “What is that, even.” He patted Akechi’s forearm with the back of his hand. “And, you like it or not, you are one of us now, right? So you should learn some of it.”

Akechi smacked his hand away with a frown. “I’ve never said I’m-“

“Shush.” Ren was definitely pushing his luck, but it just felt so _good_ to have detective as an ally again. To stand by his side once more. “Just accept that.”

Akechi opened his mouth as if wanting to protest further, but in the end only sighed and brought one hand up to his forehead. “I’m going to get a headache from all this.” He looked up at the still bickering trio next to them. “Let’s go for now, we are wasting time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should really stop editing late at night, with my eyes burning. I hope I fixed most of the mistakes/bad grammar TwT
> 
> Next time: The Phantom Thieves' shopping online nearly leads to disaster!


	11. Thieves’ Code of Honor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryuji lost his balance and almost fell to the ground together with his chair. “You did what?!” he screeched at Akechi.
> 
> “Wow, just look at him, the panty thief,” Futaba murmured with amusement, loud enough for everyone to hear.
> 
> “What is it about the Phantom Thief?” Yusuke asked with a slight confusion.

“So then you’ve reconciled with Akechi-kun.” Makoto nodded to herself, tapping her now seemingly inseparable notebook with a pen.

“That’s right,” Ren confirmed and looked at the detective sitting next to him on the bed. “Speaking of which, what were you up to all that time?”

Akechi looked down at the cup of coffee in his hands, then up at the Thieves gathered around the table. Him and Ren were the only ones who aborted from squeezing there with the others, in attempt to escape the additional heat radiating from the group of people.

“I was investigating, of course,” he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world and they were just slow.

“Huh, what could you even investigate if we kept an eye on Alice all the time,” Ryuji scratched his head, swinging his chair on its back legs. “Did you break into the changing rooms and went through her shit? Haha, joking…”

“That’s surprisingly clever coming from you, Sakamoto-kun,” Akechi praised ironically. “Yes, you could say I did just that.”

Ryuji lost his balance and almost fell to the ground together with his chair. “You did what?!” he screeched.

“Wow, just look at him, the panty thief,” Futaba murmured with amusement, loud enough for everyone to hear.

“What is it about the Phantom Thief?” Yusuke asked with a slight confusion. She patted his thigh affectionately.

“Keep your sweet innocence for now, Inari. I will tell you when you grow up,” she said and laughed wickedly.

Haru chuckled at their banter cheerfully while Ann rolled her eyes with a small smile.

Makoto cleared her throat, drawing everyone’s attention to herself. “So, what _exactly_ have you been up to, Akechi-kun?”

“I wanted to take a look at her phone. Check if her EMA app differs from the normal ones,” detective explained. “But it didn’t seem out of the ordinary to me, though I am by no means an expert.”

Ren caught the eye contact with Morgana. “So you were rehearsing?” he mouthed, and the cat winked playfully in response.

“Hmm… that’s a good move, actually,” Futaba spoke up, deep in thought. “If _I_ got an access to her phone, maybe I could check if it was tampered with. Is there a way for us to get our hands on it?”

“Not a legal one that I can think of,” Akechi replied instantly, clearly having considered his options before. Ren thanked the heavens he didn’t decide to snatch the device at first opportunity presented.

“You’ve said that you were watching us talk to Alice too, right?” Ann snapped her fingers.

“Actually, only a part of it,” Akechi admitted. “But I’ve seen enough to get that she’s a bit fucked up, to say the least.” Makoto scrunched her nose at his choice of words. “But I happened to be in the corridor her manager was going back through.”

“Oh?” Haru straightened up. “Did you learn something from him?”

Akechi shot her a quick, considering look, and Ren wondered if he expected her to act differently towards him now.

“He wasn’t really in the condition to be interrogated, I have to admit. And I didn’t want to blow our covers either,” he said in the end. “But,” he emphasized, “I did determine something with the more casual talk. In case it wasn’t obvious already, that man is terrified of Alice. The thing is, it doesn’t seem to be the aftereffect of his wish getting stolen. It confirms my theory that Alice is aware of what and how she can inflict on people. She _is_ choosing her targets.”

“Yes, I think there is no mistaking it,” Morgana nodded with a frown on his cat face. “When Lady Ann confronted her, the first thing she did was to pull out one of those cards on her. She didn’t really want to be friends, she just wanted to turn Lady Ann into one of her puppets,” he said, looking at Ann apologetically.

“It was the last drop,” Ann smiled weakly. “But as I said before, I still want to help her.” Everyone at the table nodded in agreement.

Sophia on the screen of Ren’s phone shuffled suddenly. “I don’t understand,” she said. “Why do you want to help her? Isn’t she evil? We should just get rid of her.”

In an instant, all faces in the room stilled in shock and disbelief.

“W-what are you saying, Sophia-chan?” Makoto asked nervously, gripping the pen in her hand a bit tighter.

“It’s the most logical thing to do, isn’t it?” Sophia replied simply. “If she poses a threat to others, if many people are suffering because of her, we should defeat her to assure there will be no more victims, right?”

“Defeating her, it’s easier said than done.” Morgana waved his tail. “If we mess up something, she can even die, so it would be better if we could steal her Treasure, like we did within the Palaces.”

“Isn’t it good if she dies?” Sophia asked, triggering another wave of stares and noises full of disbelief.

Her words were so different from her attitude until now. The cheerful girl claiming to be the good friend of people was suddenly reduced to a program following cold logic. Ren wondered if the truth of her being an AI, not an actual person, struck all of the Thieves equally hard in that moment. It wasn’t as if they didn’t know. They were just… good at heart themselves. And they considered Sophia one of them already.

Ann opened her mouth to say something, but Akechi was faster.

“Technically, you are not wrong,” he said with a smirk.

“Akechi- san!” Haru jumped to her feet so abruptly Futaba flinched and curled into herself.

“But,” detective continued, ignoring her, “it’s not the way the Phantom Thieves do things.”

Haru sat down slowly, stiffly, angry look not leaving her face.

“I don’t understand. Didn’t you say the Phantom Thieves are helping people?” Sophia argued. “And Alice is evil, so it’s the most efficient way to resolve this!”

“You are relying on numbers, Sophia-chan, and fundamentally it’s not wrong.” Everyone’s eyes were switching from Sophia to Akechi as they ping-ponged their opinions. “I assume that you’ve calculated that sacrificing one unit for the sake of multiple others is the best way out of this situation…” _And I agree_ , Akechi didn’t say, but Ren could see it in his face, judge from his past actions. “But this sorry bunch here has their own code of honor.”

“Dude, did someone switch Akechi out when we didn’t pay attention?” Ryuji whispered to Ann, but in the silence that followed it rang loud like a bell.

“You can’t put value on a person’s life, Sophia,” Ann said with slightly knitted brows, tone a bit scolding.

“We act following our personal justice, but we don’t kill anyone, whoever it is,” Yusuke added.

“There are things only we can do, but going further than that would make us no better than the villains we fight,” Haru supported.

“No point in all of our effort if we became the bad guys too!” Ryuji wiped his nose with a smug look on his face.

“That’s why we are the Phantom Thieves of Hearts,” Morgana explained. “We don’t kill, we steal hearts of the bad guys, to make them realize their mistakes, to make them truly realize the weight of their wrongdoings.”

“Steal hearts…” Sophia murmured to herself. “Change hearts. Everything is connected to the human hearts.”

“And that’s what we promised to help you understand.” Ren smiled gently at her.

Sophia was silent for a moment, then nodded her head. “Right, I should learn more in order to become a better friend of people. I will go along with your decision, everyone.” The bright smile returned to her face.

The wave of relief surging through the room was apparent, and only Akechi kept smirking with amusement. Ren wondered what did detective really think of Sophia.

“So, stealing the Treasure, it is,” Akechi said, then placed his now empty cup on the floor. “I’ve confirmed with Sophia that something similar to it exists in the Jail.”

Morgana nodded in agreement. “It really does! When we went to check it out earlier, I could smell it too. But… it was a bit different from how the Treasures smell.”

“I guess we have no other option except witnessing it’s true form with our own eyes,” Yusuke commented.

“Actually,” Sophia said, “you are incorrect. It’s not _it_ , it’s _them_.”

Makoto gasped. “There is more than one Treasure? How is that possible?” She looked down at her notebook and wrote something down hesitatingly. “It’s not like Alice has more than one heart…”

“We don’t know if it _is_ the Treasure,” Akechi reminded. “It’s only our speculations, as we were not able to confirm if they are the same kind of occurrence yet.”

“R-right.” Makoto frowned, as if slightly angry at herself, and Ren thought again if her rivalry with Akechi is on, anew.

She seemed slightly distressed and less focused than he remembered her. He wasn’t sure where did the feelings originate from, though. Was she driven by the need to prove herself for her own satisfaction? Or was it something more complicated, like not wanting to lose to Akechi since she couldn’t accept things being done his way giving better results? The latter shouldn’t be the case now, when they worked together and Akechi seemed content to do things the Phantom Thieves way this time.

“But then, the Jail _must_ originate from something. It is still a distorted cognitive space, so the source of that distortion simply _has_ to be somewhere out there.” Morgana’s voice was confident. “And since this is our best lead for now, we should follow it.”

Makoto nodded a few times while taking more notes, and Ren noticed Haru giving her a slightly worried glance. So he wasn’t the only one who’ve noticed.

“Since we have our goal set now, what say we go to Jail after this?” Morgana asked.

“Hm, indeed, we shouldn’t waste more time than needed, the people are suffering right this moment, after all.” Yusuke nodded.

“But we didn’t restock our supplies yet,” Ann pointed out.

“We know where to get them, though, so it shouldn’t be a problem,” Ren spoke up. “It’s not a big deal to drop by the usual stores real quick.”

“I can sponsor the supplies,” Haru offered readily. “Though it’s too bad I didn’t take my favorite axe with me…”

“Don’t worry, Haru, it is kind of the last minute decision, after all…” Morgana reassured her, conveniently not pointing out the fact that if Haru had her _favorite_ axe, it was most probably not the only one in her possession.

“By the way,” Futaba spoke up suddenly. “I know Sumire is away, but shouldn’t we like… you know, let her know what exactly is going on, too?”

“Oh, shit.” Ren instantly grabbed the phone laying next to him on the bed and… realized too late it’s _Akechi’s_. Because his, obviously, was still placed on the holder at the table, displaying Sophia on the screen. “I’m borrowing this,” he said quickly, in an attempt to mask his mistake with a smug grin.

Akechi raised his eyebrows and cracked a small smile of his own. “Is that your idea of revenge? Of course, don’t hold back, I want to see you trying,” his voice gained a challenging but also a bit sarcastic undertone to it.

Ren, desperate to not make a fool out of himself, started quickly shuffling the possible ways to unlock it inside his mind. Then, as he turned the screen of the phone and it caught a bit of light, he got instantly enlightened.

The small, victorious _ha!_ left his lips as he stared at the clear trace of the complicated pattern Akechi’s fingerprints left on the surface. He already placed his finger on the screen where the pattern seemed to begin when Akechi’s hand suddenly snatched the phone away from him.

“Hey!” Ren protested, but then caught a glimpse of Akechi’s slightly panicked eyes. Ren gaped for a second then cleared his throat. “Okay, I will just call her later,” he deflated and rubbed the back of his neck.

Wow. What was _that_.

“What was _that_?” Ryuji voiced his thoughts.

No, the thoughts of everyone in the room, judging from the looks on their faces.

“The game,” Futaba said, voice grave.

“What?” Ryuji looked at her with his eyes wide open.

“Don’t worry about it, Ryuji, you are not the player.” She sniffed her nose.

“Uh, alright, can we get back to the topic?” Makoto didn’t look at Ren in search for approval this time.

He was about to laugh at the exchange but suddenly the voice caught in his throat.

He got up to his feet, startling everyone. “I will be back in a sec,” he announced, not waiting for anyone to protest because he was _sure_ someone will.

As expected, Makoto’s voice caught him halfway towards the stairs.

“Ren, we need to discuss the issues concerning our supplies more thoroughly!” she protested.

“I will be right back!” he lied waving his hand dismissively and stormed downstairs. Surely he could leave the group alone for fifteen minutes or so.

The sudden, desperate need to clear his thoughts was overwhelming to the point it was hard for him to pinpoint the exact cause of its origin. Was it the fact that they were going to act as Phantom Thieves again? Or that Akechi was there with them? Both possibilities seemed equally convincing. He thought he won’t get to use his persona ever again. He thought he won’t see Akechi ever again.

In a slightly paranoid way, he realized the return of Metaverse and detective were a bit dream-like.

The last few days were in a sense similar to the nightmares he used to have sometimes as a kid, before going on the field trips. He was preparing for them, packing his bags, but constantly remembered more and more things he should do or add to his luggage before the departure. Until, when the time has come and he thought he was finally ready, excited for the experience, he always woke up.

The trip was still awaiting him in the real life, but the strange dread of the cut-off dream was making him feel uneasy, like he lost something irreplaceable.

He knew adapting this way of thinking to the current situation was a sort of self-inflicted poison. But after what Maruki has once done with their reality, sometimes, out of the blue, he was suddenly finding himself fearing and doubting.

With his life right now, basically _miraculous_ , he really didn’t want to wake up.

Or more like, he didn’t want it to be a dream in the first place.

He wanted to punch himself for letting these thoughts into his mind. It wasn’t Maruki’s reality this time. Fearing it will only make him go paranoid for no good reason. There were more important things to focus on. Probably just being happy was one of them.

Arsène in his mind stirred gently in what Ren read as attempt in comforting him. It worked. Kind of. He stepped into the small kitchenette, almost bumping into the counter.

Sojiro, the only one in the café right at the moment, looked at him with apparent surprise painted all over the face. “Did something happen? You look like the death itself is chasing you.”

“Sojiro,” Ren half-whispered, half-whined, “can you go up there and tell them you absolutely need me to work right now?”

Sojiro’s eyebrows rose up so high Ren expected them to touch his hairline soon enough. And Sojiro was kind of balding. “What have you done this time? Or is that a guilty conscience? You promised to help out but you avoided it like fire until now.”

“I didn’t avoid it,” Ren protested weakly, “just, a lot of stuff is happening and I really need a break. I wanted to work, I promise, I want to work so much I’m-” he recalled Akechi’s slightly panicked expression, “I’m gonna die if you don’t let me.”

What the hell was there on Akechi’s phone he was so scared for Ren to see anyways? Ren _was_ curious, but knowing Akechi, as soon as he regained his composure, Ren was probably going to suffer.

Sojiro sighed heavily. “Listen, kid,” he started, but the sound of someone’s frantic yelling, suddenly cut, then loud rumbling noise from above cut him off.

They both listened in for a second, but everything got quiet suddenly. Sojiro opened his mouth again, but Ryuji’s loud voice made him close it at once.

“Oh shit, are you serious?” The boy’s voice was full of pure panic.

“For fucks sake, Sakamoto! Sophia, don’t you dare—”

It’s been a while since Ren heard Akechi go completely feral. First, it only happened in the battle fervor in the Metaverse before. Second, he certainly didn’t expect it to happen when he took his eyes off him for… two minutes. The detective haven’t finished his sentence yet, when the door to Leblenc opened, followed by a loud chiming noise.

“Express delivery!” The man dressed in the working clothes and a cap called out, and for a second the silence fell upon the whole shop again.

Sojiro and Ren looked at the man without understanding.

Was it some sort of mistake? The silence prolonged, then got broken by a sudden noise from above, as everyone started talking at once, voices agitated.

“Shut up for a moment, will you!” Akechi yelled, then said something else, much quieter and thus inaudible for the people downstairs.

Never in his deepest dreams has Ren considered the possibility of shit going down this fast between Akechi and Thieves without him there as a mediator.

“It’s café Leblanc, right?” the delivery man asked puzzledly, shuffling on his feet. He placed the package in his arms down with a small _thud_ and scratched his head.

Sojiro and Ren looked between each other, then nodded.

Someone’s quick steps rang from the staircase, and soon Akechi emerged from amongst its shadows. He looked completely annoyed.

Though, as Ren supposed, from someone else’s perspective, he would come off as polite and cheerful.

“Hello, my apologies for the wait!” Akechi’s voice was the perfectly measured proportions of apologetic and sunny. So was the look on his face. The perfect mask, just like the one he always showed on TV before. He passed by Ren like he was just a rock laying by the road and stopped before the man. “I’m deeply sorry for the inconvenience but, unfortunately, we are forced to cancel our order.” He beamed.

Ren was only seeing his profile now, but still considered shading his eyes with one hand, to protect them from the image of radiating brightness Akechi transformed into.

And he still had no idea what was happening right now.

The delivery guy looked slightly confused but after a few more words from Akechi, he finally nodded and left, taking the heavy looking package away with him.

When the door closed behind him, Akechi turned towards Ren so slowly it sent chills down his spine.

The detective’s face still had the bright smile plastered on it, which was only making it worse… then their eyes met and his mask dropped in an instant, leaving the _truly_ irritated look behind.

Ren swallowed through the dryness of his throat. Okay, this was even worse than the previous worse.

Akechi’s hand shot forward and caught him by the arm, fingers digging deep into the flesh.

“You. Are coming back there. Right now.” It was by no means a question.

Ren nodded and let himself get dragged along, meeting Sojiro’s amused glance when he looked back at him in search for help.

Sojiro smirked.

Wow, dad, the betrayal. Wow.

Akechi dragged Ren by the arm all the way upstairs into the silent room, full of nervously fidgeting people. That was _not_ how Ren has left them.

When they sat down on his bed again (or more like: Ren was roughly thrown onto it and Akechi sat down gracefully), he cleared his throat and gathered up the courage to ask.

“So. What did I just witness?”

Ryuji opened his mouth with a slightly hurt expression, but Akechi was faster, again.

“Your _friends_ have just nearly gotten themselves involved in the illegal trade of black market goods.”

Oh, his friends have just nearly gotten themselves involved in illegal trade of black market goods!

His friends did _what_?

“In those two minutes I was away,” he more stated than questioned.

There was no reason for Akechi to lie about it, however impossibly… impossible it sounded.

“Hahaha…” Haru laughed humorlessly. She sounded a bit broken. “We need you with us, leader!” Everyone winced at her fake cheerful tone.

“To be completely clear, it was Ryuji’s idea,” Yusuke explained, unfazed.

“Hey!” Ryuji protested but then slumped with resignation. “Okay, I admit it, it was my fault.”

“Well, technically…” Ann started, eyeing Sophia, but stopped at that.

“I don’t see the problem,” Sophia said with a slight confusion apparent in her voice. “I paid for it, it’s how the things work everywhere in the world!”

“You’ve paid with cryptocurrency,” Futaba mumbled into her knees.

“I… I’m a bit scared to ask, but what did you even order?” Ren looked among the group but everyone averted their gazes at once, and the silence followed.

“Let me tell you,” Akechi spoke up again suddenly and Ren shot him a sideways glance. The detective was leaning back against the wall comfortably. And it seemed he was starting to enjoy the effect his attitude had on people. “They have placed an order for a whole fucking bar of gold.”

Ren closed his eyes.

Okay. The bar of gold.

He opened his eyes.

“Was it pure gold?” he asked Akechi with a smug grin and got mercilessly elbowed in the ribs in return. “Ouch.”

“W-well,” Makoto spoke up. She tucked the stray lock of hair behind her ear. “At least we know the express delivery function is one of the options available for us… haha…”

“Wait, what do we even need it for?” Ren furrowed his brows. They were going to talk about getting the supplies for the Jail trip, weren’t they? “We could just contact Iwai or doctor Takemi, like usual.”

“Look, remember that guy with his wish stolen? We saw him right in front of Untouchable and it had the closed sign hanging on the door,” Ryuji reminded him.

“Right, but didn’t it say “closed for the day”?” Ren furrowed his brows.

“Well, yeah, but I went there today again before the TV station, just to make sure, and it was the same thing still. Also seems like it’s been up there for a while.” Ryuji leaned back in his chair. “Figured we are gonna need some weapons sooner or later. Pretty smart, huh?” He beamed and Ren smiled in response.

He didn’t hear Akechi scoff so he probably rolled his eyes instead.

Ren hoped nothing serious happened to Iwai, and noted in his mind to send a message to him or Kaoru later. It seemed like he’s having a date with his phone in the evening. Call his mother back, call Sumire, message his weapon dealer.

“Futaba also said that doctor Takemi has been absent for a few days now, due to attending medical seminar,” Yusuke added, “and thus she is unable to provide us her services as of this moment.”

“So, you know, it rolled pretty fast and Sophia said she can help, then sorta asked if we have any wish, like, _anything_ … and yeah,” Ryuji scratched his head. “I was just joking with that bar of gold, man!” he exclaimed defensively.

Makoto threw him a pointed look that translated to _I don’t think that you were joking_.

In the end, they decided to take Sophia up on her offer anyway, not having many other options in mind. And if they wanted to visit the Jail today, they needed the weapons right now. Their only requirement was for Sophia to get the items from the legal sources. 

She found the acceptable shop in no time and the phone got passed around among everyone so they could choose what they wanted to get for themselves. After that, Haru seized the device and, quietly consulting with Sophia, made the payment.

Once again, the speed of the order being processed, as well as the impossibly quick delivery, completely surprised them.

“D-do you think they use space tunnels for this? The wormholes??” Futaba whispered agitatedly, leaning over the now opened box, like if she wanted to find at least a small speck of stardust on it.

“Move, Oracle, there’s nothing for you inside!” Yusuke said dramatically and rubbed his palms against each other in anticipation.

He wasn’t the only one excited – everyone gathered was beaming with the slightly impatient energy. Well, almost everyone. Akechi, habitually, leaned against the wall a few paces away from everyone else.

Makoto shooed the Phantom Thieves away to take charge and started digging up everyone’s weapons one by one, calling everyone over to collect them in order. Ren was the first to pick his up, and legs carried him naturally back to Akechi.

“You didn’t tell them yet,” the detective observed, “about the possible police surveillance.”

Ren shook his head.

“Why, don’t want to worry them?” There was a mocking tone in Akechi’s voice.

“Shut up, I’m still angry at you for hiding that,” Ren scoffed and looked up at the other’s face. It grew serious in an instant.

“I know your experiences with the police are—”

“Akechi-kun!” Makoto’s voice interrupted him. “Your sword.”

Akechi furrowed his brows and pushed himself off the wall to collect his weapon.

“Ren.” Yusuke’s voice made him jump on his seat.

“Yusuke.” He looked up at the artist, who seemed to have materialized next to the bed out of thin air. His face told another story, though, painted with worry. “You’ve heard,” Ren stated.

“Indeed. I’m not going to force you to tell everyone, but if you wish to know my opinion, it’s what I would recommend.” Ren opened his mouth to protest but Yusuke wasn’t finished yet. “I do understand the feeling of not wanting us to carry the burden with you, in a way. But as much as you wish to protect the Phantom Thieves, I’m sure we all want to protect you too. If you perhaps suddenly vanished into thin air at one point, we would be left devastated and confused of what to do.” The artist’s brows were tightly knit together.

Ren was being _scolded_ by Yusuke.

He swallowed and rubbed the back of his neck. Yusuke may have been the eccentric one in their group but sometimes he was no less sharp than Akechi or Makoto in his observations. It was no surprise, though. As an artist he was always able to see deeper into things.

He wasn’t wrong this time either. Ren always thought about protecting his teammates, but rarely considered his own safety in the process. Even now, when the sheer possibility of being dragged into police custody again made his body tense up and the panic cloud his mind; he felt like his duty as the leader was to take the whole unwanted attention and responsibility onto himself.

If someone else thought like this, he would probably try talking them out of it. After all, there is always something, big or small, he could try to do for their sake.

It just felt like allowing others to protect _him_ , do things for _him_ was somewhat wrong. He was supposed to be the unshakable one, even if he didn’t think of himself as such.

Yusuke was still watching him closely with a tinge of worry.

“Even though I’ve said the possibility of only you being targeted is the most probable one, I don’t necessarily have to be right.” Akechi came back and didn’t hesitate to continue their conversation where they left it off. Even after seeing Yusuke. So he knew all along that the artist was listening.

Ren sighed in defeat. “Yes, you are right, both of you,” he admitted. Even if he didn’t like it, since there was a possibility of everyone getting involved, he should at least give them a warning. Not doing so would make him no different from Akechi, and his reason for getting annoyed would lose all its validity. “I guess the fame got to my head,” he tried joking weakly and Yusuke smiled at him warmly in return, then turned to go fetch his own gear.

“I’m surprised your friends are willing to disagree with your decisions,” Akechi commented, conversationally.

“See, that’s the part you keep misunderstanding,” Ren turned his head to look at him. Detective was observing everyone in the room with his eyes slightly narrowed. “The true friends aren’t your _followers_. They are people who will support you when you need support, and beat you up when you need some common sense beaten into you.”

Akechi smirked coldly.

“Oh, well, if you phrase it like this it almost sounds like—” he trailed off but Ren didn’t waste a second.

“Us.”

Akechi shot him an irritated glance.

“Sounds like us,” Ren repeated, not intimidated at all. Even if it was an awkward one, he decided to think about what they had as friendship already.

“Think what you want.” Akechi scowled and his words sounded like a curse spat in the middle of the battle.

But he didn’t deny.

* * *

They all went to Shibuya together, Ren sandwiched between Ryuji and Ann, both casting suspicious glances around in search for prospective policemen. The moment Akechi saw that, he rolled his eyes and went off to stand alone on the other end of the train cart – “like a loser”, the invective provided by Futaba.

Ren didn’t yet have an opportunity to talk about her feelings towards Akechi joining them again. Her behavior haven’t changed though, and she didn’t seem to be angry at him for basically making the decision about the detective joining the group all by himself.

She wasn’t the only one, either. He was starting to gradually feel worse and worse about not touching the matter with everyone. Even though he probably shouldn’t – barely a few days have passed and he, for one, knew that figuring out some matters takes a lot more time that that.

“How are you feeling?” Ann asked worriedly and for a moment he didn’t realize what exactly did she mean.

“With bodyguards like you lot? Safer than in a bunker.”

Ann chuckled lightly but then grew serious again. “You didn’t do anything. None of us did. We won’t let anyone take you away based on groundless suspicions.”

“Yeah, man,” Ryuji joined the conversation with fire in his eyes. “No way in hell I’m letting them harm my bro ever again.”

“I guess we _are_ involved again, though.” Ren said, looking at Makoto, protectively standing in front of the sitting Futaba and Haru. The latter also had the Mona bag on her lap. “I’m feeling bad for Sae-san, though. We gave her a promise of sorts, back then.”

“Hm, that’s right,” Ann mused. “We’ve said we will leave everything to the adults, trusting them with carrying out the justice this time.”

“But dude, no one can do what we can,” Ryuji sighed. “It’s not like we’ve signed up for this shit because we wanted to.” He looked around and lowered his tone a bit. “But to be honest, I’ve missed this.”

“I guess we all did,” Ann chuckled quietly. “There is something intoxicating in having those powers, being able to do what no one else can.” She looked at Ren. “I guess it was the worst for you, Ren.”

“Hm?” He peeled his eyes away from Futaba’s cheerful expression as she teased Morgana by booping his nose.

“I mean, you know, ever since we’ve disbanded you only had Morgana by your side,” she looked down at her feet, “and the rest of us, even though we didn’t meet for our business anymore, we were… are still connected by the stuff like school. And it’s a lot easier to meet up if we want to, since we are in the same city. Not that we did, though,” she added after a short silence. “It’s not the same without you. Or more like, without the common goal.”

“You two were getting along though?” Ren looked between his two friends, deciding to ignore the implications on his loneliness back in the hometown. He _has_ been lonely, but he didn’t want to think about it right now. The life was getting brighter again, and he didn’t wish to darken it back.

“Oh, yeah.” This time it was Ryuji who spoke up. “We’ve ended up in the same class for the third year, so it was easy to hang out.”

“We haven’t done this much before,” Ann grinned, “despite knowing each other since the middle school. But thanks to everything we’ve been through, I realized Ryuji isn’t that bad.”

“ _That bad?_ For real…” Ryuji shook his head in defeat, but then looked up at them again, smile finding the way back to his face. “But yeah, pretty much same, I guess we’ve found this… commute language in the end.”

“It’s _common_ language, you moron,” Ann scolded but her voice carried warmth in it.

They switched to the usual bickering and Ren indulged himself in just listening to the lively voices. Their relationship really has progressed past the stage where he was the only connecting point between them, and the realization warmed his heart up.

* * *

Their group was big enough to draw a lot of attention, so after exiting the subway they decided to split up for the brief shopping before meeting up again. The weapons and medication weren’t the only things they needed, after all. Since it was impossible to predict how long will they take in the Jail, they needed basic stuff like drinks and snacks to keep themselves going. Haru had offered to pay for everything, but everyone protested this time, as even without making earlier preparations they could allow to get this much each for themselves.

Ryuji and Ann refused to let Ren walk around alone, so the three of them got stuck together, paying the quick visit to the Underground Mall. Akechi was nowhere to be seen, as he wandered off by himself, but on their way back to the station, they’ve noticed his lone figure by the Buchiko. After exchanging quick looks they wordlessly agreed to walk up to him and go to the meeting place together.

They were only a few steps away and Ren already started opening his mouth to call out to him when the most unexpected thing happened. The trio stopped in their tracks, gaping.

Akechi was being attacked by a pretty big, black bird. A crow.

No, Ren realized after a second, he wasn’t being _attacked_. The bird tried to sit down on his arm and Akechi was trying to shake it off with an irritated expression on his face. Some people around were even stopping to witness his struggle.

“—you again? Stop it already, you empty-brained chicken, develop some survival instinct, for fucks sake!” Akechi’s angry litany reached their ears.

“Is that…” Ryuji coughed up, “is that bird—”

Akechi noticed them suddenly and froze. The bird used the opportunity to hop onto his shoulder happily. It smacked his head with one wing in the process, shuffling his hair.

“Not. A word from you,” Akechi warned through the gritted teeth, when the three of them came closer and half-shielded him away from the unwanted audience.

Ryuji scratched his head, looking at the bird with round eyes. “Dude, wow, I don’t know what to say, but this is kind of badass,” he commented, ignoring his words. The bird tilted it’s black, shiny head to the side, looking at him.

“Caw, caw,” it talked back.

“Dude…”

“It’s super cute, Akechi-kun,” Ann commented excitedly and leaned forward a bit to take a better look at the bird, “where did you get it?”

Akechi clicked his tongue and made another attempt to push the bird off his shoulder, but it tightened the grip of it’s claws instead. He gave up and fixed his hair with one hand instead.

“I didn’t _get_ it, it’s not mine. There is just something wrong with it’s head as you may have noticed.”

“It’s reaaally super cute, it kind of looks like Ren,” Ann chirped and rose up her hand, as if trying to pet the crow, but resigned halfway. “So it’s not domesticated?”

“I said it’s not,” Akechi repeated, then brought his hand up to the bird again. “That’s enough, you get down.” He tried to pry off one of the claws, but the crow pecked his ear affectionately in retaliation. “Ugh, stop it already.”

“Maybe it’s hungry?” Ann rummaged through her bag and fished out the sandwich she bought earlier, then tore off the small part of it.

“Don’t spoil it,” Akechi tried to pry off two claws at once and this time it worked, as the bird lost the balance slightly and moved to his hand, “or it will attack people walking around with food in order to steal it.”

“Nooo, I’m sure it wouldn’t,” Ann dismissed him and smiled dotingly at the crow, “You are a very nice, smart bird, aren’t you?”

“Caw, caw!”

“Haha, there you go~” she offered the piece of sandwich to the bird on the open palm. It snatched it immediately and flew away.

Akechi dusted off his shirt and hands with a sigh, then threw a pointed look at Ren. “You look like you want to say something.”

Ren cleared his throat. “Well, for a moment I was under the impression I’m seeing double,” he said with a smirk. The silence followed. Akechi’s face didn’t move an inch, though something flashed in his eyes.

“Let’s go, we are wasting time,” the detective said after a few seconds and turned around to go.

They’ve followed after him and a good minute has passed until Ryuji suddenly spoke up.

“Oh, I get it. You meant it’s _two crows_ ,” he giggled and Ann elbowed him playfully in the ribs.

“Ryuji, you are so slow sometimes,” she said but laughed too.

“You two, the good time to laugh at this has passed already,” Ren grumbled, but felt the corners of his lips arch up a bit.

They tried to pester Akechi about the full bird story for a bit, but he ignored all of their questions and pleas after responding to the first one with: “We don’t have time for trivial things like this.”

Ren couldn’t help but feel a bit happy at Ann and Ryuji’s attempts to strike the friendly conversation with the detective. What they said to him before was genuine and they were trying to prove it. Their efforts didn’t seem strained either, with the two acting like Akechi was not only a teammate but someone they felt comfortable with now.

It made Ren realize maybe he wasn’t the only one left with regrets regarding Akechi, after all. There might have been more to what his friends mentioned before – the supposed talk they had about the detective most likely awakened the conviction they were showing now.

The other Thieves were already waiting, gathered up in the spot from which they entered the Jail last time.

Ren looked at their faces, all his most beloved friends. They have been through so much together. They thought their journey ended back in February.

He adjusted his glasses, fished his phone out and nodded at Sophia to begin the navigation. He straightened up.

“Let’s do this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> READ NEXT: How the Two Crows Befriended Each Other (you can find it as a part of the series but here's the link too: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26685460 )  
> A spin-off about Akechi&crow with a glimpse at his daily life with Tatsujun!
> 
> Writing this fic is a lot of fun to me and I hope you all are also experiencing at least bit of joy while reading it, even if my skills are lacking :3 Every comment/kudos/bookmark from you guys makes me super soft and wobbly inside and I feel like I'm not saying "thank you" enough, so once again - THANK YOU!!!
> 
> PS. Yes, they are going to kiss. Eventually. I only now realize that even though the story is like, 4th day in (and it's Thursday, btw!), it probably reads like a slow burn, so I will most probably add it in the tags...


	12. Back in the Business

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “It’s pretty romantic, isn’t it?” slipped from Ren’s lips.
> 
> Akechi’s clawed finger tapped the middle of Ren’s forehead but he didn’t say anything.
> 
> “Should we regroup?" Ann spoke up as she crawled back into their side-road alley.
> 
> “There is no need,” Futaba’s voice came from nowhere. “We should be able to communicate like this for now.”
> 
> “Right, I forgot you had this ability.” Ren smiled to himself.
> 
> “Pretty romantic, isn’t it?” Futaba answered drily.

“Before we go further in,” Ren started, crouched by the edge of the platform. One leap forward, and they would end up in the middle of the street, easy prey for the Shadows, “we need to rearrange our usual way of doing things. There are just too many of us to ensure we will be safe together.” He looked at the other Thieves, all geared-up and phantom-suited.

Futaba nodded. “I said before, but the amount of Shadows in this Jail thingy is unbelievably greater than what we had to deal with in the Palaces.”

“We need to proceed in smaller groups to not draw too much unnecessary attention,” Akechi mused, “but at the same time the groups should be close enough to come to each other’s aid if required.”

“That’s what I was thinking, too,” Makoto said, voice slightly strained. “We should break into the smaller teams while having the balance in mind.”

“Our strongest healers are Panther and Mona, so I suggest we center the groups around them,” Akechi added. Makoto bit down on her lip.

“I agree,” Ren straightened up and turned around to look at everyone. “I will try and get my hands on some persona with the healing powers soon, too. And also, I want to send Oracle separately, with one person as the bodyguard.” Futaba’s hand wandered to grab Yusuke’s sleeve and Ren suppressed the smile trying to find its way to his lips. “Crow, Mona and Oracle are experienced navigators. Sophia and Mona can sense the treasure-like thing. I trust that Fox will keep Oracle from the harm,” he continued.

Yusuke nodded in confirmation and tugged at Futaba’s arm so they could stand a bit further from the others. Ren thanked him for that in his mind, as it made it easier for him to focus on splitting up the group evenly with the clear visual.

“Mona, you are going to navigate and heal the second group, with Queen’s support” he decided. “For the same combo, Crow and Panther, you are coming with me in the first one. We are taking Sophia too, she should be able to lead us to the source of the smell easily. That leaves Skull and Noir in the second team. You guys should be able to throw a good heavy punch.” He smiled at them and the team answered with the same. It seemed like no one was going to oppose the plan. “Any questions?” he asked, pro forma, as Makoto moved on to split the healing and damage-dealing items evenly between them all.

“Um, actually,” Haru spoke up, raising her hand a little, and for a moment Ren dreaded that she was going to say something about Akechi. “We haven’t decided on Sophia-chan’s nickname yet.”

He breathed out a short laugh. “Right, our tradition.” He searched for Sophia with his gaze and found her standing right next to Ryuji.

“It toootally should be something cute,” Ann exclaimed excitedly. “Like Marshmallow. Or Ice Cream~.”

“Uhh those are hard to spell in the middle of the battle. Maybe something to match the animal trend?” Futaba suggested. “Like… Penguin.”

“Penguins aren’t white, you need to think more of Sophia’s costume aesthetic,” Yusuke instructed her. “The arctic seal is more like it.” He hummed and nodded to himself. “Yes, Seal. What do you think, Sophia?”

She tilted her body to the side. “Seals are cute…” she admitted thoughtfully.

“You don’t seem convinced, Sophia-chan!” Ann almost jumped excitedly. “Let's think up more cute things, hm? Like, Meringue! Or Sugar!”

“Huuuh~ What about Pancake? They look delicious, “ Sophia asked, tilting to the other side.

The silence that fell upon the group was so thick with tension it could be cut with a knife.

Ren risked taking a careful glance at Akechi while everyone else looked exactly everywhere but  _ not _ in his direction. The look on his face was suspiciously neutral.

“I’m not  _ mad _ about the pancakes,” he said after a silent minute has passed. Everyone started breathing again or maybe it was just Ren’s imagination. “But I appreciate you remembering I didn’t wish to hear about the matter anymore.” He didn’t add the usual fake smile to the statement.

Haru cleared her throat. “Maybe we should do the same as in Mona-chan’s case?” she suggested, completely skipping off what just happened.

“Huh? But her name isn’t that long.” Ryuji scratched his head and Sophia jumped up and down.

“Did you have an idea, Noir?” Morgana asked curiously.

“How about Sophie?” Haru’s smile was bright and cheerful and Ren deadpanned.

“That’s almost like not changing it at all,” Ann muttered, probably voicing the thoughts of everyone gathered.

“I like it!” Sophia grinned happily.

Well, almost everyone, Ren revised his opinion.

“She likes it,” Akechi murmured with disbelief.

“Uh, okay then, from now on, you are Sophie when we are here!” Mona summed up and looked at Ren, like if waiting for something.

Right, orders.

“Is everyone ready?” he asked and took a good look at his teammates.

They pulled down the masks, fixed their costumes. Answered him with wide grins, eyes shining in excitement.

They were ready.

Ren placed himself at the very edge of the platform, the tips of his heeled boots suspended in the air. He breathed in, feeling the thrill awaken in his chest. Down there, he would become Joker again.

He felt a presence appear at his side. Akechi pulled down his mask, one eye he could see on his profile watching Ren from behind the red visor. Challenging, tempting, promising.

Akechi smirked. All-knowing, like he could see right through what was going on in Ren’s head.

Ren’s own grin cracked open, showing teeth.

They jumped at the exact same time, leaped into the air, fell down. They flipped forward to cushion the impact and stood up together, arm to arm.

Ann and Sophia followed soon and thus the first group began leading the Alice’s Jail infiltration.

The Phantom Thieves were back in action.

* * *

They made it nearby Shibuya 705 pretty quickly, even while being specifically careful and alert all the time. No Shadows seemed to roam around for now, and Akechi claimed the biggest readings he was getting were focused in the building itself.

Ren remembered, however, how the last time they came here the patrols seemed to appear out of thin air, like if set off by them stepping on the hidden trap’s trigger. It was better to be safe than sorry for now.

Shibuya 705 didn’t resemble it’s real world equivalent almost at all. From the distance, it was still somewhat recognizable but the closer they got, the more apparent the differences became. What they could see clearly before them now, was a Wonderland-like castle, with tall turrets, cat-shaped towers that were clearly inspired by the Cheshire Cat aesthetic, and a huge deal of colorful balloons. Above them, the rows of colorful light bulbs stretched like Christmas decorations, casting soft light all around.

In a way, the castle could be considered pretty cute, an attraction in a theme park for ‘Alice in Wonderland’ enthusiasts. From Ren’s perspective, however, it was unsettling. The exact  _ problem _ was hard to pinpoint, though. Maybe it was the creepiness of the cat-towers’ smiles. Maybe it was the 10 meters tall teddy bear statues, sitting by its walls, giving off an image of abandoned toys.

_ I don’t have an interest in toys that don’t listen to me _ .

Or maybe, Ren thought, looking up at the building from where they were hiding in the shadows of huge balloons, it was the moon, hovering behind the castle like a watchful eye.

Exactly like during their two previous visits to the Jail, the world was submerged in the deep of the night. Lit up by many sources of cheerful light bulbs and pretentious neons, yes, but mostly by the huge face of the moon, deeply yellow and orange, unsettling in its beauty.

A thought passed Ren’s mind that if Yusuke was looking at the same moon right now, Futaba probably had to listen patiently through the enlightened poem of its marvel. The one or two sentences focusing on regret regarding not having his art tools with him would most likely be present, too.

Ren chuckled lightly, gaining himself a scolding glance from behind Akechi’s mask red visor.

“Is the castle so funny?” he asked with a small disdain.

“Uh-uh,” Ren shook his head, “I was thinking how Yusuke would most likely describe the moon.”

“Mhm,” Akechi murmured, bemused.

“It’s pretty romantic, isn’t it?” slipped from Ren’s lips.

Akechi’s clawed finger tapped the middle of Ren’s forehead but he didn’t say anything.

“Should we regroup? We didn’t see those strong lights there from our starting spot, it may affect the plan” Ann spoke up as she crawled back into their side-road alley.

“There is no need,” Futaba’s voice came from nowhere. “We should be able to communicate like this for now.”

“Right, I forgot you had this ability.” Ren smiled to himself.

“Pretty romantic, isn’t it?” Futaba answered drily and he absentmindedly took his hand up to tug at the lock of hair from his bangs. He could feel the blush heating up his face.

Akechi snorted with amusement.

“Anyways,” Futaba continued, “those lights you see there, they aren’t normal. They are searchlights, I suppose if we place as much as a finger under them, the horde of raging Shadows will spawn on us from nowhere.”

“Is there any way to slip past them?” Ann asked with resignation in her voice. Ren sympathized. It was never that easy. They will probably need to…

“Search for another route,” Akechi said, at the peak of his mind-reading skills.

“Yeah, sorry guys, but I guess it would be best if we searched for another route… maybe some power room too, I could try trampling with the machines and switch those off.”

“What are we going to do, Joker?” Sophia asked. “I can help. We should be able to still follow the scent if we go this way.” She pointed out at another alley, a few meters further.

“Alright,” he looked between the members of his team. “Were the others listening?”

“Yup,” Futaba said. “I will coordinate, so don’t worry about it, just do your thing. Sophie, are you planning to go up there, 20 meters to the right?”

“Yes, Oracle, it should be the most efficient route.” Sophia jumped up and down.

“Roger that. Lets regroup at the top.”

Ren adjusted his gloves and emerged first from their hiding spot. The searchlights they were talking about, shining reflectors of eyes from the cat-shaped towers, were lighting up the pretty big area just before the castle gates. Over the wooden door, the pair of freaky eyes stared down at the street, unblinking. They looked like the exact copy of Shadow Alice’s… hair accessory.

Well, even if searchlights weren’t there, Ren supposed they shouldn’t make their ways inside through the front gate anyways. As Morgana would say, it wasn’t befitting of the thieves. They should sneak inside with style.

The alley Sophia mentioned was as dark as the one they were hiding in before, but less narrow. There were piles of old wooden and plastic boxes under its walls, making it possible for them to climb their way up.

Part of Ren suspected it won’t be that easy. He wasn’t really working out much after going back home, not counting the PE classes and occasional jogging sessions in the nearby park that Mona urged him to do. Yet again though, the cognitive space worked for his – or probably their – favor, allowing him to jump further and higher than he would be able to in the real world.

Observing the castle from this new perspective was a fascinating experience. It wasn’t the first cognitive distortion of a place he saw, obviously, but every single one left him in a sort of awe.

There was something incredibly artistic and probably also intimate in seeing the distorted space like this. He didn’t think it’s what the buildings and locations  _ actually _ looked like in the eyes of Palace rulers (and now the Jail ruler). But it definitely delivered some sort of message to outsiders like them.

Simply speaking, the word describing the distortion was never enough to truly realize it’s potential or power. In the cases Phantom Thieves used to deal with before, the cognitive spaces were usually negative in some ways, the depictions of humanity’s sins.

This one seemed different at first glance, but was it really?

The castle befitting a princess, yes, but it wasn’t possible to ignore the bits of knowledge about Alice they have gained earlier today.

She didn’t think highly of herself before. She strived to change, to get out of her lonely shell. What must have happened to change her view like this? Why wasn’t she happy and satisfied with the change she acquired at least, and instead became a cruel person, treating others like toys?

Ren was by no means an expert, but Ann’s earlier words let him open his eyes to the new possibilities.

_ I’m the victim here! _

Did Alice truly talk herself into believing such a lie? Or was it not a lie, but a cry of rage, bloomed from the feelings of abandonment and helplessness? Everyone had their own limits. Maybe something pushed Alice to cross her own against her will.

“Joker?” Ann asked, a bit worriedly, and he realized he was spacing out.

They were higher up the building they climbed, allowing them to take a good look at the scenery of transformed Shibuya.

“I’m okay, I got lost in thoughts,” he reassured her and looked behind.

The second group joined them, looking refreshed if anything.

“It’s sorta boring, don’t ya think?” Ryuji grinned. “We didn’t get to fight yet.”

Makoto rolled her eyes at him. “You will change your mind soon enough, Skull.”

“We are bound to meet some enemies soon,” Ren said, “We were probably too far away from the castle, it doesn’t even count as infiltration yet.”

“I’m a bit worried about the enemy numbers,” Makoto admitted, crossing her arms. Haru behind her bent down to help Futaba up. “You guys met the Shadows here during your first visit, so you had at least this warm-up. I hope we will have some time to adjust before meeting a larger group…”

“Don’t worry, Queen!” Ryuji beamed. “We remembered things in no time at all. Muscles remember!”

“But you need to admit, this is creepy,” Ann said, even though her voice also betrayed some fascination. She was looking down at the decorations, lollipops and ice cream corns ten times the human’s size. “Everything here seems exaggerated in a strange way. I was never really scared of amusement parks before, but this place is giving me creepy vibes.”

“S-stop it.” Makoto looked at her with widened eyes.

Right, she wasn’t really the one to take horror stories well. And the whole place looked like a little girl’s wicked nightmare when bathed in the light of the too big moon. Deserted, with no trace of a living spirit’s presence, besides them.

Even Ren felt uneasy at the thought and he swallowed hard, noticing another oversized teddy bear, swinging right and left on the spring, just around the corner. He looked back at the others, catching Akechi’s amused gaze focused on his own throat. Bastard.

He cleared his throat. “Guys, so there is good news, and bad news.”

Everyone looked at him curiously.

“I think if we go further this way, there is a good place there to continue from. That’s good news,” Ren explained. “Bad news is, there is this… freaky teddy bear there, that’s likely to explode into a bunch of Shadows if we come near.” Makoto paled under her mask at the mention of the oversized toy. “And the flying… uh, it looks like a drone with a machine gun attached to it.”

“The drone, hm?” Akechi mused. “Do you still have that funky grappling hook on you?”

Ren didn’t know. He tugged at his coat’s sleeve and felt a familiar weight resting there, ready to use. He nodded.

“You can try taking the drone down with it,” Morgana suggested. He nodded again.

“Are all of us going in?” Haru asked, glancing worriedly at Makoto again.

Ren was beginning to get more and more concerned about it. What was it he couldn’t quite grasp yet, but was definitely going on with their former student council president? He couldn’t allow himself to dwell on it too much now, though, so he just shook his head slightly to refocus.

“No, let’s go with our primary plan. No better moment like now to test it out, right?”

“There is no reason for us to just stand aside and watch, though,” Makoto said. “My group can progress a bit further if you cover for us.”

Before he could react, she came closer and then passed him in one swift motion. Arsène in his mind tugged with alert… and it was the only warning Ren got before the round from the machine gun came down in the rain of bullets at Makoto’s feet. She shrieked with surprise and he was already there in the next second, pulling her back around the corner.

For a minute, everything went silent, and the two of them just stood in place, motionless. Ren could feel Makoto’s pulse racing wildly through her veins where he was still grabbing her wrist.

For some strange reason, no attack followed. There was no alarm, no pursuit. Maybe the drone wasn’t like the Shadows that could actually  _ think _ and only reacted in a way the laser walls would.

Either way, that was not the case.

“What were you thinking just now, Queen?” Ren asked, hearing his own voice as a strained, low growl.

He only noticed he was gripping Makoto harder and harder when she squeaked in pain and jolted her hand. He let go hurriedly, but only physically. He kept drilling holes in her face, feeling his own quickened heartbeat not slowing down even a little.

Ren could see in his imagination as she goes out straight under the bullets, her bloodied body, holed like a strainer, hitting the ground lifelessly. Their abilities weren’t fully re-awakened yet. He couldn’t count on Akechi having a samarecarm on him right now. There was no telling how this could have ended if not for Arsène’s quick call and Ren’s reflexes.

He was willing to ignore Makoto’s weird behavior before, but it was only as long as it didn’t put anyone in danger, including herself.

“It wasn’t like you,” he pressed, even as her face scrunched up in guilt.

“Ma— Queen-chan!” Haru hurried to their side and grabbed a hold on Makoto’s arm. “Are you okay?”

Makoto pursed her lips. She was fighting against her pride, probably. But the pride meant nothing to the dead person.

“Queen,” Ren growled again, demandingly.

“Joker, stop it!” Haru turned to him with an angry expression. She gripped her tiny hand into a fist as she pulled Makoto behind herself with another one, shielding her from him. “I know you are worried, but it’s okay, no one got hurt!”

“But could have,” he said, unable to let the matter go, even as Haru’s sudden outburst turned his stomach with a pang of guilt. But, maybe he really overreacted.

Ren took in a deep breath and turned away from them. He reached for his gun, pulling it out in a swift motion and fired a bullet where he dragged Makoto away from just a moment earlier.

The machine gun fired another round instantly, confirming his theory.

“Okay, then.” He shoved the gun back into the holster. “It seems like we won’t get any further from here, after all.”

“Joker—” Makoto spoke up.

“It’s alright.”

He wasn’t mad. He wasn’t.

Okay, the machine gun would have fired anyways. Cool. But it still should have been him who got into danger. Maybe he ought to apologize to Makoto now. But he  _ couldn’t _ . It should have been him who went in first.  _ He  _ would somehow… survive. He would avoid the danger. Others, however…

“Get out of your head, Joker,” Akechi hissed as he suddenly appeared next to him, firmly gripping his arm. “We have no time for your petty hero complex issues.”

The words hurt more than the clawed fingers digging into his flesh. Ren wished they weren’t so accurate. He yanked his arm out of his grip.

The other Thieves observed them with a mix of consternation and concern. Sophia blinked without understanding.

Not the best way to get back as a team.

He sighed heavily. It wasn’t supposed to be so… not smooth. Was it his fault? Was his plan flawed?

Ren glanced at Makoto, now firmly avoiding his gaze. Seemed like he would have to deal with this one later.

“Oracle,” he said, “is there a way to get past here?”

“I searched it up while you were… busy,” she mumbled, her quiet voice perfectly clear through whatever communication link she ruled over. “It’s another searchlight. It’s smaller than the ones we saw down there, but it gave us a taste of how it works huh.”

“Can we turn it off? Is there some sort of power supply nearby?” Yusuke asked.

“Mhm, I’m getting a reading somewhere to the south. It seems like… the direction of Mark Town.” Futaba pointed in a direction.

“Dude, so we climbed all the way up here just to… climb down now… not cool,” Ryuji whined.

Ren bit down on his lip.

“We couldn’t have predicted that, but I know where you are coming from,” Ann sighed.

Maybe Ren should have been able to predict it, as a leader.

“At least we know now that we are on the right path.” Yusuke placed his hand on Futaba’s head. “Well done, Oracle.”

She giggled wickedly and fixed her goggles.

“Let’s go, then,” Ren called out and they, once again, broke into smaller groups and began the long way down the building.

He really hoped the beginning of their infiltration wasn’t a forecast to the rest of it.

* * *

Along the way to the Mark Town they encountered the Shadows for the first time. It was weird, seeing bicorns and pixies as their enemies once again. It felt almost like some sort of flashback to their beginnings as the Phantom Thieves.

The Thieves’ powers were there, but they felt… dulled. The skills that should have been there were missing, the names of them still clear in their heads, but their personas unable to unleash their true potential.

Ren wondered what it could mean. Was it the effect of the Metaverse? Of this new space? Was the Jail restraining them not less than they did the Alice’s victims? Or maybe he was looking for excuses and the hard fact was that their spirit of rebellion weakened with time.

But then he met Akechi’s burning gaze, as he tore through the multitude of enemies, the considerably wicked smile lighting up his face. So… it didn’t seem to be the case, after all. The detective’s soul was still the same shape of a blazing hellfire.

The cognition it was, then. Maybe the Jail’s ruler’s power dictated everything there. Not allowing them to be overwhelmingly strong, as they weren’t perceived as such. They were the  _ danger _ but not beyond Alice’s limit. Evenly matched – that, probably, wouldn’t be the case either. It was never easy to take down the Palace’s rulers, after all. It was their domain, the deepest parts of their unconscious. Even if they haven’t encountered Alice in battle yet, there was no way she would see herself as weaker than the filthy intruders in her own palace.

Futaba’s and Akechi’s guidance, along with Sophia’s keen nose, brought them to the top of yet another building.

“What is it? A… bird cage?” Ryuji leaned over the railing and squinted at the very cage-like shape in the distance.

“There is something inside,” Makoto observed drily. She was unusually quiet since the incident, her otherwise commanding attitude visibly restrained.

“Is that… a Treasure?” Haru blinked with surprise.

The shape of the thing inside the birdcage really was like that of the Treasure. The weird mass with no particular shape, floating in the air. Ren looked at Morgana, but he shook his head.

“It’s not. It looks like one but… the smell is different.” Morgana casted a glance at Sophia. “Is that what you were sensing all this time, Sophie?”

The girl nodded, energetic as always. “It is, I think we should go there.”

“There is a strong reading coming from it, and under it… I think it’s connected to our energy source,” Futaba confirmed. “I have a feeling if we grab this sparkly thingy, that one searchlight should turn off.”

“Sounds like a lot of running around again,” Ann sighed but then smiled. “Well, anyways, it seems important, right? I wonder what it really is.”

“Since it looks similar to the Treasure… maybe another manifestation of human desires,” Akechi suggested, stretching his neck lazily.

“Maybe.” Morgana looked around. “Is there any way to get there, though? It seems pretty far away.”

“It doesn’t seem like there is any entrance to that tower…” Makoto said.

“We could go from below,” Ren suggested, remembering where they ended up the last time. The underground of the castle was stretching pretty far.

“Good idea, Joker,” Sophia said with a smile and hopped up and down a few times.

“How so?” Morgana blinked.

“The waterway!” Sophia jumped again.

“Ohh, right!” Ryuji exclaimed. “That’s where Alice threw us down, huh?”

“Right! Let’s go at once!” Sophia joined him enthusiastically, and Ren  _ saw _ her knees bending down for another jumping fit, when suddenly, Akechi’s hand landed heavily on her arm, black with dark blue and gray against the white of her costume.

“That’s enough, stand still,” he commanded and Ren finally felt his good humor crawling back to him.

* * *

“It’s sooo gross, ugh,” Ann whispered agitatedly, tugging at Ren’s coat.

They were going through the unused waterway paths, not exactly  _ wet _ but not dry either. He could feel his own heeled boots slipping on the slimy surface from time to time, so it wasn’t really hard to imagine how it felt for Ann.

At one point, they reached the sealed off area. Again. It was getting tiring, but at the same time it didn’t feel like a good time to take a break yet. Not that he would enjoy eating while surrounded by the gross slimy walls, the sound of dripping water, and sludge, either.

“What do we do?” Ann asked with resignation. “Please don’t say we should swim.”

“We should swim,” Akechi smirked.

“We should find another way around,” Ren corrected, feeling like the phrase was a solution to literally everything today.

“There is a vent there,” Sophia pointed at the row of metal bars further on the wall.

The fate’s good will or a honey trap, they would need to find out.

* * *

The group of Shadow guards blocked the corridor, their only way out of the waterway and out into the castle grounds. It wasn’t like he expected to get through the underground without any obstacles at all, but the sheer number of enemies was overwhelming.

Even if they were able to deal with them coming in packs like this before, it was something Ren’s brain refused to get used to easily.

“Think of it like this,” Akechi said, breathing only a bit heavier, despite taking out at least a dozen of enemies with his sword only. He seemed reluctant to call forth Hereward, or maybe it was only Ren’s imagination. Another option, he just wanted to vent his stress physically. Was Akechi stressed? “These Shadows are many in numbers, but it seems like our attacks’ range got extended, too.”

His back pressed against Ren’s as he shifted his sword from left hand to right and pulled out his gun. They started shooting at the same time, and, with surprise, Ren noticed Akechi was right. The bullets that normally targeted one enemy seemed to affect not only the one he was directly aiming at but also the nearby ones. A few pixies dissipated into black smoke.

He lowered his gun, looking at Ann, swiftly dodging bicorn’s charge at the other side of the spacious corridor. Her whip flew through the air as she turned and smashed it after the Shadow. The tip tangled at it’s legs, stopping it in its tracks. Sophia attacked with a bless spell, not particularly effective against it but not completely useless either. Her not-quite-a-persona hovered behind her for a second then disappeared in a blink.

“What do you think about Sophie?” Ren asked, habitually lowering his voice as the space around them got quieter, too.

The comfortable pressure of Akechi’s back against his disappeared, as the other turned around to stand next to him. Their elbows brushed briefly as he did.

Detective hummed thoughtfully, following Ren’s gaze. Ann was talking to Sophia excitedly, mimicking some of their new Thief’s battle moves. Sophia jumped excitedly up and down and presented her with a correct stance.

“I don’t trust her,” he said in the end.

“You don’t trust  _ anyone _ ,” Ren corrected, glancing at him with a smile, but it froze at his lips at the sight of the small, not malicious for once, smirk forming at the other’s lips.

“Not  _ anyone _ ,” he retorted, tilting his head to the side to return Ren’s gaze.

Something swirled in his chest. That wasn’t… what he expected. So it seemed that during the time they were separated, Akechi found the people to rely on. Probably the pair who took him in.

He knew it, logically, as he couldn’t imagine Akechi trusting someone enough to fall asleep in their close presence. And he also knew he should be happy for him. But it stinged nonetheless. It made his throat tighten. So was he jealous, on top of useless, now?

It felt like a 180° twist from how warm and pure his feelings on the matter felt before. Was it because even though the  _ trust _ was involved all along, Ren was the one Akechi trusted the most, even if still quite little? Was Ren so desperate and greedy to have it only between the two of them?

Well, being jealous like this only proved he didn’t really deserve it anyways.

He broke the eye contact first and looked aside. “I see. That’s… great.” Maybe if he said it out loud, it would be enough to actually feel this way.

It wasn’t.

Akechi didn’t say anything, only hummed again, but Ren could  _ feel _ his piercing gaze drilling a hole through his head and into his brain, like if he wanted to drag his thoughts outside until nothing was left unspoken between them.

Ren took a step towards the girls, wanting nothing more than to get away before he made a fool out of himself. Or even a greater fool. Hell knew.

Akechi, who was behind him just half a second before, suddenly appeared before him, blocking his way. “That’s it?” he asked, a sly grin curling one side of his lips upwards. It was really… nice… but Ren didn’t feel like seeing it  _ now _ .

He tried to slip past him, but Akechi blocked his way again.

“Okay, what?” he sighed, heart jumping in his chest as he expected the detective to call him out on whatever he concluded his behavior with.

“You wanted to know what I think about Sophie, haven’t you?” Akechi’s eyes twitched slightly behind the mask, an indicator of him raising his eyebrows questioningly.

“Right.” He felt like a brat. Ren Amamiya, age eighteen, his mental abilities deteriorating at the mention of trust. He forced himself to relax his posture a bit.

“I don’t trust her, but I don’t think she is a bad… person.”

Ren risked a look at his face. His hand was up, propping his chin. He appeared lost in his thoughts.

“I would say the first part about every new Metaverse user, obviously,” Akechi continued, “but Sophie is a program. She has been written by someone. Conditioned, if you prefer. You can’t foresee what will lie underneath her current, pure personality, may she recall her past one day. We should first find out who created her, before we entrust her with our lives.”

“It’s not like… parents determine the way their kid will turn out,” Ren mumbled under his breath, knowing he is setting his foot on dangerous territory. But the programmer who wrote Sophia was the closest to that, weren’t they?

Akechi’s body stiffened slightly, but his voice didn’t betray anything. “Do you believe, Joker, that the machine can grow a human heart?” he asked flatly, and Ren felt, for the first time in a long, long while, that detective’s question wasn’t actually what it seemed to be at the first glance. There was something more beneath its surface, thick and yet elusive.

It wasn’t a question Ren was meant to  _ answer _ .

It was a question he was meant to outdo.

“If it’s possible for a human to become a machine,” he said quietly, as he looked Akechi in the eyes, “then why not the other way around?”

Something flickered in the detective's eyes – he could see it even through the red glass of the visor. He wasn’t able to tell, though, if Akechi was pleased with his answer or not. “Perhaps,” he said vaguely. “Anyway,  _ relax _ , Joker. You are useless like this.”

Ren gritted his teeth. Tell him something he didn’t know. “Maybe you would like to take charge, then?” he asked before he could think better.

Akechi’s gaze grew colder as he laughed humorlessly. “Stop  _ joking _ . I’m only here to take care of another trash messing with people’s heads. The fact that I agreed to do it your way doesn’t mean anything. Just do your damn job. You weren’t terrible at it before so don’t start now.”

Ren looked at his back as he walked away, further into the corridor, without even glancing at Ann and Sophia along the way.

Everything was going to hell.

But hearing Akechi call him out like this… it felt somewhat like a challenge. He felt the need to prove him wrong now.

_ What a way to get your determination burning again, _ Arsène murmured inside his mind with a hint of amusement. The guy wasn’t exactly talkative but his comments tended to be quite on spot. Ren wasn’t sure how to feel about it, though.

The castle grounds laid just at the end of the corridor. For the first time, it felt like they made actual, solid progress. The building with the ominous bird cage on top of it was in sight, and that alone seemed to raise everyone’s morale.

“Well,” Ren said, mostly to Ann and Sophie, since Akechi seemed set on keeping the distance, “it looks like that part was easier, but we can’t predict what’s next. I’m worried that we haven’t met many Shadows until now.”

“Should we wait for others, then?” Ann asked.

Ren considered it for a second. “Oracle, are you there?” There was a short silence before Futaba’s voice rang in his ears.

“Suuup!” He winced, absentmindedly taking his hand up to massage his ear. “Yeah, what’s up, Joker? We are doing great here, no enemies in sight. Either your group or Makoto’s kept taking care of everything. Also, I’m getting hungry.”

Ren rolled his eyes at the last statement. “We will take a break soon, let's regroup at the top of this… tower. I want everyone to be there when we check that Treasure-like thing out.”

Futaba hummed enthusiastically in confirmation. “By the way, these huuuge steel pipes we had to cross…”

“Futaba,” he interrupted her with a small smile. At least one of them was having fun. “Where is Queen’s group right now?”

“Hum hum… I get their signal around some structure that resembles a gate?”

“Probably that last barred gate,” Sophia supported.

“Okay, that’s not too far. They should be able to make it in time to support us if something happens.” Ren looked in Akechi’s direction but the other’s gaze was focused on the exit to the palace grounds.

“If something happens?” Futaba repeated and he could  _ hear _ her furrowing her eyebrows.

“I had this thought before, when we met Alice earlier today,” Ren explained. “If our… encounter affected her cognition in some way. Honestly, I expected the hordes of Shadows waiting for us back on the streets already.”

“You are right,” Ann shifted a bit nervously. “Now that I think about it, it’s pretty unusual. Not that I’m complaining… but we never had the infiltration go smoothly before.”

Ren looked down at his red gloves and fixed them. “I don’t want to jinx it, but we should be ready for anything. Oracle, tell the other team to watch our backs if they catch up.”

“Roger that!”

“Okay,” he looked at Akechi, “Crow, Sophie, any concerning readings ahead?”

“It’s all a bit wobbly,” Sophia answered. Not exactly helpful.

“There are multiple signatures,” Akechi added. “But there is something strange about them. Like if one is more than one. It’s hard to explain.” He didn’t look their way.

“So it may be some sort of trap, after all,” Ren fixed his gloves again. “Let’s go. And… I’d like to try and catch a few Shadows to make them my personas this time.”

Everyone nodded and followed when he took the first step then next out to the castle grounds.

The area wasn’t so colorful and pretentious as it was on the outside, with only occasional decorations here and there. It made Ren wonder if the cognition was weaker around here. Or maybe there was another meaning to it, like it usually was in the cognitive world. With the shiny, exaggerated outside of the castle bearing familiarity to Alice’s outfit both here and in the real world, and the more plain and toned down interior, where she didn’t expect anyone to look.

They passed the small labyrinth of the brick walls, to end up in the not too big square at the foot of the tower. The long, spiral staircase led all the way to it’s top, where their goal awaited.

The square was by no means empty, though. The swarming horde of Shadows awaited there, patrolling the area around the tower. A few more bulky-looking guards were a bit up the stairs, scanning the area like the birds of prey.

It seemed that they finally found their missing Shadows.

The shocked muffled gasp sounded to his left.

“Joker…” Ann tugged at Ren’s sleeve, her voice fearful. She pointed at something to the right and he felt his breath hitch when he followed the direction with his gaze.

The rows and rows of prison cells lit with red light stretched along the entire length of the wall.  _ No _ , he realized, looking around. They stretched along all of the walls encircling the tower.

They looked familiar, to the point it turned his stomach.

Like the prison cells down in the heart of the Metaverse, where Yaldabaoth resided in the form of the Holy Grail.

“Fuck.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! 
> 
> In the news this time - I don't know if I will be able to update a new chapter next week like usually. I ran out of the fully pre-written chapters last week and managed to post this time, but due to some irl stuff and also the fact that I'm working on:
> 
> 1) Shuakeshu Vampire Week fic (currently 15k in, 5,5/7 chapters done)  
> 2) Goro BigBang fic (currently 6,5k, probably around 20% done)
> 
> it might be hard. I will do my best, though, because writing TRS is just so much fun it writes easier than anything else, so maybe I will manage somehow.
> 
> Another thing - it's almost 200 kudos here, I can hardly believe it but I feel obligated to express my gratitude in a form of art TwT So on top of everything else, I will try to draw something for you! I feel a bit weird saying this, but if someone wants to suggest a scene from this fic for me to draw, feel free to, I don't have an idea yet so... *blushes much*
> 
> I wish you all a great October!! 
> 
> Next time: Jail exploration part 2!!


	13. The Dress, The Magazine and the "Macaron Cannon"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Huh? A dress?” Haru asked puzzledly.
> 
> “F-for real?” Ryuji came closer to take a better look. He scratched his head. “What are we supposed to do with it? Are you gonna have to put it on?”
> 
> Ren took a better look at the dress. It seemed like he could actually pull it off.

“Oh my god are those—” Ann started but the Shadow guard spawned suddenly right in front of them.

“Hey, you there! How did you—” the Shadow called out in alarm, it’s words cut off in the middle of the sentence as Akechi’s sword tore right through it’s mask. It burst into a few pixies and silkies.

Ren called for Arsène’s curse spell and it burst the group of fairies away in a blast of red-black power.

A lot was happening at once after that. 

Akechi’s wild, content laugh, unrestrained now that they have already gotten noticed. It rang in Ren’s ears, vibrating in his bones, calling for him to echo it. 

Sophia and Ann were working together – Ann lashing her whip in wide arcs that hit many enemies and drained their power with each constant hit, Sophia finishing them off and covering for the other Thief when she took a damage dealing role.

Ren didn’t just watch either. He jumped forward when noticing a heavily wounded pixie, the first opportunity to gain a new persona that he got since they regained access to the Metaverse. He readied himself for the negotiations... but she only squeaked in fear upon noticing him and transformed into a mask on her own, like if she read his intentions.

He almost stopped, the unexpected occurrence making him hesitate, but in the end didn’t. He grabbed the mask drifting in the air and felt the familiar sensation of it merging with his soul. The knowledge of newly acquired powers appeared in his brain in a manner so natural as if it was there from the beginning.

He looked around to see if any silkies or bicorns were nearby too, but as soon as he spotted one of the spooky maids in orange dress, Akechi’s sword tore through it mercilessly, making it dissipate into black smoke.

Ren had a fleeting impression their eyes met for a moment.

Was it a challenge? Was Akechi telling him he wasn’t fast enough and so he missed an opportunity? Surely it couldn’t have been that, right? They were teammates and Ren clearly stated before that he wants to try getting some new personas.

He shook his head to clear it from these thoughts and reached out for the gun, deciding to take down the pixies first. Their healing abilities could make the fight stretch on forever.

More and more Shadows were flowing onto the square and with each passing minute the exhaustion from small wounds of nearly missed attacks started building up. Sophia and Akechi were the only ones who looked unaffected, but Ren had a feeling that if in Sophia’s case it was her non-humane nature’s manifestation, in Akechi’s it was just running on spite.

“Ann, heal yourself!” Ren reminded her between one wave of enemies and another, and judged it was a good call as she looked at him in surprise from her spot a few meters away. It happened sometimes in the heat of battle, the pure adrenaline dulling any sense of pain and tiredness.

The soft green glow surrounded her as Celestine’s form flickered in the air.

“Oracle, where are the others?” Ren asked into the air.

“They are closing in. Should I open communication?” Futaba asked back after a few seconds.

Ren swirled the dagger between his fingers and jumped onto the Shadow guard, thrusting the blade under it’s mask. It broke into two bicorns and he got one of them down immediately with one clean slash.

“No, just tell them to circle the tower along the right side and flank the enemy. If they ambush some of them, it will be easier for all of us,” he commanded, eyeing another horse-like Shadow as it kicked one of its back legs, preparing for the charge.

He was ready when it lunged forward, trying to run him over. Arsene in his mind stepped away, making space for the pixie who materialized over his arm with a graceful pirouette. The electric shock stunned the bicorn, rooting it in place as the aftershocks ran through its body. Ren exchanged the dagger for the gun and shot it until it was down from exhaustion but not dead yet.

Holding the gun up to it’s head, he wished it would transform into a mask, just as the pixie did before. Nothing happened though, for one, two, three seconds, and before he realized it, the horse’s muscles tensed and it was already jumping back on its feet when—

One clean laser shot to the head and the Shadow turned into a pile of swirling black particles.

“What was that, Joker, forgot how to fight?” Akechi’s snarl came from his right. The barrel of his firearm was still pointed at the same spot but his sharp eyes rained bullets at Ren.

He clicked his tongue in irritation. “Nothing of sorts. I was figuring something out.”

“Right, your extraordinary powers,” Akechi came closer and shot at another Shadow over Ren’s arm.

“Weren’t you the—”

“It’s really not the _time_ for this, Joker.” The detective rolled his eyes and shot down a few pixies while Ren sent a few more zios the bicorns’ way.

They fought in silence after that, each focusing on their targets instead of one another. Ann healed Ren and Sophia from time to time on her own accord, while he made sure Akechi was always in the condition to run around head first into danger and live through it. Not that having his stamina strained would be able to stop him, but that was also a part of Ren’s reasoning.

He used his grappling hook to jump up over the Shadows’ heads, onto the flying… machine with the balloons. He ran out of bullets but switching to Arsène and his curse skills let him take care of most of the pixies while the rest of the Thieves fought other enemies. Fighting this wave really seemed to be going smoother with the take-out-the-healers-first tactic.

Until Sophia didn’t manage to shield Ann in time and one of the silkies got her down with a bufu spell. Ren slashed the machine’s cables with the dagger and fell down to the ground together with it, its broken parts injuring the enemies around.

Ren took off in Ann’s direction to heal her but suddenly the green light surrounded the girl, healing her wounds, even though she was still trembling from the cold. He looked around, searching for the familiar figures of Queen or Mona, but they were nowhere in sight.

“Huh? It didn’t work?” Sophia asked suddenly with slight confusion and everything clicked into place.

“Sophia, you can heal, too?” he gasped, noticing the last of the enemies going down under Hereward’s physical attack. It seemed like they could have a few seconds before another wave of enemies appeared.

“That’s right, Joker!” She jumped up and down, beaming. There was no trace of fatigue on her face or in her movements.

“W-why didn’t you say so sooner…” Ann asked through the frantic chatter of her teeth.

“Because you didn’t ask.” Sophia bent her whole body to one side.

Akechi’s amused snort rang just behind Ren’s back, almost making him jump out of his boots. “Undeniable logic.”

“You… you should say these things sooner, Sophie,” Ren sighed, too tired to even think about scolding her. Well, she was right, but on the other side it wasn’t how the teamwork worked. He didn’t blame her for not knowing, but someone will have to explain it to her later.

“Ok-kay!” She beamed cheerfully and made the “roger” gesture at her head.

Ren shook his head and searched for a hand warmalizer to give to Ann. He barely handed it to her when the sound of the multiple footsteps rang behind them. He forced his sigh down and turned, ready to face more enemies.

But the enemies didn’t come.

“Jokeeer!” Ryuji waved energetically as he jogged towards their group. Other Thieves from the second team lagged a bit behind.

“Skull, how— did you guys get rid of the remaining Shadows?”

“We wiped them off like dust.” It was Morgana who answered him, voice enthusiastic.

“Skull, I have healing powers!” Sophia announced unceremoniously, and the four newcomers froze in place in surprise.

“Wha—For real?!” Ryuji tapped her on the shoulder like a proud parent. “That’s great, makes things easier for everyone!”

Ren looked in Makoto’s direction but she turned her head away as if she knew it was coming. He held back yet another sigh. He couldn’t really figure out what her deal was, and found himself thinking he’s glad they were on different teams today. 

The pang of guilt in his gut, he decided to ignore.

“Hoooi!” Futaba’s voice – her real voice, not the one through the communicator – sounded nearby. 

She and Yusuke came closer, unscratched and healthy-looking. It seemed like the trip to Jail was merciful for them.

“So, what now, Joker?” Morgana asked, folding his short paws on his chest in a very human gesture.

“I think we have nothing else to do now besides to climb up and see what that Treasure-like thing really is.” He rubbed the back of his neck, looking at the top of the tower. That was… a lot of stairs. “Are there any enemies still lurking around?” He meant to look at Futaba but his gaze wandered to Akechi.

It seemed though that she expected the question to come anyways, because she still answered it.

“The readings are clear for now. I don’t sense any disturbance at the top of the tower either. We should be OK to go.”

“We can get some rest there,” Makoto suggested and Ren nodded in confirmation.

It was his plan too, but swallowing the pride after her beating him up to saying it felt strange. He didn’t recall their relationship being like this ever before. Maybe way, way back, when she hasn't yet awakened to her persona.

“More importantly…” Ann spoke up just when he was ready to turn on his heel and lead the way up. “Are we really not going to talk about… this?” She gestured around at the rows of prison cells. 

Everyone’s expressions turned grim and it was enough to tell him they all had the same associations.

“I think it should be okay now.” He calculated the best way to progress in his mind. “Do you guys want to… come up closer?”

They didn’t answer, but when Akechi took the first step then next, in the direction Ren just planned in his mind, the rest of the group followed.

There was no mistaking it. The cells were identical to the ones they saw before in the depths of Mementos. The only difference were the people inside of them, their backs highlighted by the ominous red glow that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere, like it was just a part of the matter of the cognitive world.

“Hey, look there!” Ryuji exclaimed, catching Ren’s arm frantically. He pointed at one of the cells where, behind the bars, a familiar face looked down at them apathetically. “It’s that guy who wanted to coax his friend into lending him money, the one we saw getting his wish stolen!”

“And that one there!” Ann pointed at another one. “It’s that male host from the TV Station!”

“So they are all people who got their wishes stolen,” Morgana said with a frown on his mascot face.

“What do you think will happen to them?” Ren asked, glancing down at his friend.

“We won’t need to worry about it if we free them soon enough,” Akechi answered instead.

“That’s right! We should free them right away!” Ann took a step forward but Makoto caught her by the shoulder.

“I don’t think that’s what Crow meant. And… honestly? I don’t see any way to open those doors. Oracle?”

Futaba shook her head.

“We need to steal Alice’s Treasure… or whatever it is called in here fast, huh?” Ren looked at the people’s Shadows - just standing there, locked in their cells, lifeless eyes in emotionless faces.

“I think there is no other way for us to help these people. It should make their wishes come back to them… right?” Morgana didn’t sound too convinced, wincing slightly.

“Mona is probably right, Joker!” Sophia appeared next to his elbow and looked up at him. “Getting the wishes back to their rightful owners, it means helping these people, yes?”

He nodded in confirmation and she beamed, like she was proud of the progress she made in understanding the new mechanics behind how people’s hearts worked.

“Let’s go,” Ren said and faced the tower again. Since they concluded there was nothing more for them to do here now, it was better to move on.

* * *

The stairs seemed to stretch up to infinity and when they finally ended, Ren almost tripped, his legs so used to the repeatable motion they got confused at the sudden _lack_ of the next step to climb into.

Weird floating thing – shapeless, evermoving mixture of light, fog and shadow, the Treasure-like object – awakened old memories. So many previous heists always ended with this moment, their final goal being achieved.

It didn’t seem to be the case this time, however. Morgana was set on his claim that it wasn’t the same. Futaba added it wouldn’t affect the Jail in a way impactful enough to really change something, apart from opening yet another closed path on their way.

Ren stepped closer, reaching out. Usually the Treasures manifested their true form after the Palace’s ruler realized the threat of it being stolen, but this one glimmered and took a form immediately when his palm brushed over it.

The object was… nothing he could have expected. A pop style dress in vertical blue and white stripes with puffy short sleeves landed in his hands.

“Huh? A dress?” Haru asked puzzledly.

“F-for real?” Ryuji came closer to take a better look. He scratched his head. “What are we supposed to do with it? Are you gonna have to put it on?”

Ren took a better look at the dress. It seemed like he could actually pull it off. Other Thieves joined them, forming a circle so everyone could take a better look.

“Don’t be stupid, guys,” Futaba scolded them with a laugh in her voice. “This dress was the power source, believe me or not. The searchlight back there turned off, according to my data.”

“Truly an unusual choice,” Yusuke nodded with a solemn expression.

“I’ve seen this dress before,” Ann spoke up and when she looked up at Ren, he handed it over to her. She caressed the skirt with a thoughtful expression. “It’s one of the most popular designs in Alice’s brand. It even made it to the fashion magazine…”

“I still don’t get it,” Ryuji sighed and scratched his head. “How can a dress work as an energy source?”

“Well, we _are_ in the Metaverse,” Akechi said, crossing his arms on the chest.

“That’s right,” Makoto agreed quietly. She still didn’t quite look at Ren but at least it seemed she was ready to cooperate. He held back the sigh of relief. “Maybe it has some sort of meaning to the Jail ruler? It’s a cognitive world, after all.”

“A meaning, huh? What do you think, Mona?” Ren looked down at him.

“Hmm… since it’s the power source, maybe it’s literal.”

“So it’s the representation of… the ruler’s strength? Is that what you mean?” Ann gave the dress back to Ren and he tucked it into the bag with supplies for now. Morgana nodded in confirmation. “It makes sense,” Ann continued. “The brand is what makes her recognizable in the real world, so why not here.”

“It maintains her popularity and that popularity is her power,” Akechi muses. “It’s what makes her a Jail ruler in the first place, then.”

“So what happens when we take it away from here is, we are taking some of that power from her?” Haru asked.

“I don’t think it will make _her_ … the Shadow Alice weaker, though.” Akechi looked at Futaba and she startled.

Well, Ren couldn’t really blame her. The detective seeking confirmation from someone? Unusual.

She cleared her throat before speaking up. “Yeah, as I said, it worked for the searchlight. But honestly, let’s not expect much more. Maybe if we take the other items, too.”

“The other items?” Yusuke asked.

“Uh, yeah, there are another two power sources like this. It’s probably gonna be suuuper annoying because they aren’t too close, but knowing the Palaces and stuff, we should grab them too.” Futaba shuffled on her feet.

“I agree!” Sophia jumped up and down. “They may turn off those big searchlights at the front!”

“Do we really need to go in from the front?” Ryuji sighed. “Can’t we just leave those be and try another route? If that one searchlight is off, we can just go there and see.”

“Remember how we always cleared the route to the Treasure first?” Ann reminded him. “Even if we won’t use that front route now, maybe we will need it to escape.”

“It’s… so complicated,” Ryuji slumped in defeat.

“That’s the purpose of it.” Akechi smirked. “Thorough exploration tires us – the intruders – out. Gives Alice more opportunities to get rid of us before we even reach her lair.”

“Aaaghh.” Ryuji ruffled his blonde spikes. “Anyways, can we eat now? I got hungry.”

Everyone looked at Ren with hopeful expressions.

“Right. Let’s eat and heal up first. Then we can decide what’s next.”

They scattered around the top of the tower, forming little groups. Ann waved for him to come over and join her, Ryuji and Sophia but he shook his head after a moment of hesitation and looked around. He noticed the ragged hem of the black cape disappearing behind the column and on the stairs.

He hurried after Akechi, only halfway realizing what he was doing. It was too late to pretend it wasn’t his intention now, though, or maybe he was just telling himself that.

He found the detective sitting on the stairs, legs hanging down off their outer edge. Akechi noticed him almost immediately and watched him come over in silence.

For a brief moment Ren wondered if he should ask if he can sit down next to him but the possibility of Akechi saying _no_ held him back. 

He simply sat down two steps higher than him and started rummaging through his back in search for something to eat. When he fished out a few convenience store onigiri and a bottle of green tea, he noticed Akechi had been watching him all this time.

Ren cleared his throat. “You want to ask me why I’m here?” he tried.

Akechi snorted lightly and looked down at the prison cells, way beneath his feet. “Why are you here?”

“Not to take pity on you for being a loner.” He sighed and held out two onigiri to the detective, noticing his slightly amused smirk. Akechi was about to pick them up when Ren remembered something suddenly and quickly got them out of another’s reach. “Take off that helmet first, you can’t eat like this.”

Akechi threw him a look full of disbelief.

Ren waved the hand with onigiris meaningfully.

Akechi sighed and took off his helmet, soft caramel locks falling down on his arms.

“What was that for?” he asked between the bites.

“I…” Ren trailed off. That was a good question. He unpacked his own snack. “I probably wanted to see if you are still angry.”

“I wasn’t angry,” Akechi scoffed. Ren hummed in response, busying himself with the food. “Well, I was maybe a bit disappointed.”

Ren choked. “That— that’s probably— worse, you know,” he stated between the coughs.

Akechi didn’t answer for a long minute, brows furrowed like he was fighting with himself over something. “Your plan wasn’t that bad,” he said in the end. “It’s not like these places are built in a way to make things easier for us. It’s been a while but you really shouldn’t have forgotten it was always like this. Moving on with conviction that the goal is right there, just to hit another obstacle that makes all effort meaningless in an instant.”

Ren swallowed the bite anxiously. It wasn’t like Akechi said something wrong. It was _exactly_ as he was saying. The problem was, after all this time Ren lost some of the confidence that kept building up in him for a few months back then. 

He already made himself think the era of his responsibilities for other people’s lives was over for good. 

It seemed to be different for Akechi, though. While Ren relaxed and came back to the comfortably un-thrilling life, trying to cope with the loss of everything he came to love, the detective probably stayed alert all this time. 

Even with the Metaverse gone, he still had things left to do. It’s collapse didn’t take away his drive, purpose to live. Surely he found something new to cling to, after Shido’s grand fall.

When they first came here— No, both the first time and today, Ren felt like he became Joker again, but as soon as things started getting complicated, his resolve began to crumble. He felt pathetic. 

It wasn’t a game, it never has been, but taking a break from it caused him to feel so out of practice. Not physically – the cognitive world had its own rules, after all. But mentally, he just needed time. Time they didn’t have.

“It’s not like we can take things slow,” he grumbled, “it’s different from before. We don’t have deadlines, we have basically _nothing_ except certainty that everyday more and more people suffer because of Alice.”

“Your teammates said that only your group can deal with this, so you have to.” Akechi turned the onigiri between his fingers. Ren didn’t remind him that everyone was _his_ teammates too. Akechi also needed time. And for that, they had some. “But the truth is, you can ignore it and let someone else stop Hiiragi. Maybe not with unconventional methods such as those of persona users, but surely there would be a way to do so.”

Ren gritted his teeth.

“But you don’t want to leave it to others. You feel like it's your own duty to do it, don’t you?” Akechi looked at him again through the narrowed eyes.

“Aren’t you the same,” Ren said and a small smile crossed Akechi’s lips then vanished. “Besides, there is also Lavenza.”

“Lavenza?” It took the detective a second before he remembered. “Ah. That little girl in blue.”

“The truth is… she warned me about this. It’s similar to the last time.” At least he thought it was, from that one conversation.

“Perhaps it should have been expected. I wonder, why won’t the likes of her fight? I presume she does possess some remarkable abilities.”

Ren looked down at his hands, tugged at the red gloves. “Maybe for the same reason… I mean… Would you let someone fight your battles for you? I don’t think so. They are probably giving us a chance to defend what’s ours with our own strength.”

Akechi hummed thoughtfully but his voice was sarcastic when he spoke. “How considerate.”

“Well, anyways,” Ren got up to his feet. “It’s probably enough rest. Let’s join the others.”

“Joker.” Akechi’s voice stopped him in his tracks. There was a silence after that, and when Ren already thought the other wasn’t going to continue after all, the detective spoke again. “Just so you know,” he hesitated, “you don’t have to be fucking perfect.”

Ren stifled a laugh. For some reason his chest felt a lot lighter, suddenly. “Thanks, Crow.”

* * *

The next few hours passed with them getting to the other two power sources. Ren considered the possibility of everyone splitting up into two teams, each taking one, but in the end decided to not let his frustration overshadow his common sense. 

The Jail was still a mystery to them, and taking any form of risk wasn’t necessary. Others seemed to agree, and even Makoto seemed to relax slightly when he decided to let her team lead the way to the second source, exchanging Morgana in her team with Sophia.

It was a nice experience, to have his best friend back at his time on the exploration. And at the same time, letting Sophia go with the other team was a chance for everyone to get used to working with their new teammate.

Probably thanks to these rearrangements, their route to the other source went a lot more smoothly. Maybe too smoothly for _Akechi’s_ taste, but Ren was glad that they could use this time to rest some more. They were running around the parts of Shibuya they knew from the real world, hiding behind the occasional cars and buses when needed. 

It was a strange experience, to have such a big space affected by cognition. It was weaker in some places, allowing them to take breaks, but still left them impressed.

Even though there weren’t as many Shadows out there as in parts closer to the castle and towers, there were definitely more of them outside than before. The conclusion was one – Shadow Alice probably got informed about their intrusion, and changed the tactic from the ambush to plain overpower technique. 

They engaged in a few fights, but they felt like an exercise after the one under the first tower. Once or twice they had to catch up and help Makoto’s group. It wasn’t that bad, however, still counting in Ren’s mind as a peaceful progress.

The less eventful pace allowed them to talk, too. It was mostly Ann, now that they didn’t have to search for the hidden routes and be constantly alert of the enemies’ presence.

She had a lot to say, mostly about Alice. The dress being a power source encouraged her to take guesses for the next ones. To Ren, even though she tried to look enthusiastic about it, most of her monologue just felt sad. 

Ann wasn’t feeling great about the situation, and it showed. Her acting talent improved, but not enough to fool him. A lot of what she spoke about easily connected to her own past issues in his brain. She really felt for the other girl, and it seemed like noticing more and more points of connection between them made her more sorrowful and regretful. 

In a way, it reminded him about her dynamic with Mika. He wondered if she would like to become friends with Alice too, have things not gone south.

They reached the second tower, this time surrounded by one thick wall, after what was probably around an hour of running through Shibuya. The familiar one but full of high-heel-shaped neons, ever-present balloons, playing cards-themed decorations and with occasional enemies. Makoto’s group was already waiting for them outside and Ryuji waved to call them over to join them in the shadows.

“There is a control panel next to the gate. We think there is no getting through without hacking it, as it seems to be keeping up some sort of barrier around the place,” Haru explained. “We need to wait for Oracle-chan.”

“How about you, Sophie?” Akechi asked. “Aren’t you qualified to do so?”

“Hum humm… It feels weird for some reason,” she said, pursing her lips in a slightly pouty manner. “When I’m in the smartphone, everything connects.” She waved her hands in an unreadable gesture. “Here it’s more like… tap-tap?” She bent her body to the side. Then squeezed and un-squeezed her hands. “It’s not the same.”

Ryuji looked at her without understanding, Akechi with one eyebrow raised. 

Ren felt like he could understand, though. 

Sophia wasn’t used to her physical form, probably. The processes that happened naturally to her as a program, here needed the specific physical actions to accompany them. It seemed like Futaba really was their only choice in the matter.

When her and Yusuke caught up, she cracked her knuckles with a wide grin.

“Finally, some real job for the master hacker Fu— Oracle! Wait, watch, and tremble in fear before my power,” she cackled, “but I need you guys to protect me while I’m at it. Pretty please.” She grinned at Ren and he shook his head with a smile.

“You’ve got this. The plan is…” he looked around. The first group looked more tired than his. “Queen’s group, you stick closer to Oracle. Fox and Ryuji, you wait here and ambush the enemy from behind. Panther and Mona, you do the same from there,” he pointed in a direction, “me and Crow, we will take the first impact. We should handle it, right?” He looked at Akechi questioningly.

The detective snorted lightly in amusement. Ren remembered about how he used to raid the Palaces in the old Metaverse all alone. Well, it was polite to ask.

“Guys, don’t forget to heal.” Ren reminded everyone. “Don’t take more upon yourself than you feel you can handle.” He looked at the Thieves outside of Makoto’s team. “If you get tired, switch with someone from the first team. Everyone’s main goal is to protect Oracle and watch out for their own health. Now, let’s do this.”

As soon as Futaba’s fingers touched the control panel, the pack of Shadows materialized on the square in front of the gate. There were many of them, but Ren’s plan worked, at some point making it feel like it was the Thieves surrounding the mass of creatures instead the other way around. It ended surprisingly quickly, but the sheer number of the defeated left Ren thinking they wouldn’t have to fight another sea of enemies under the tower.

He was partially wrong.

What awaited them behind the gate was a tough-looking Shadow guard that transformed into an archangel, and more walls with rows and rows of red-lit cells.

Thanks to Morgana’s good memory of events back in Kamoshida’s Palace, Ren quickly assembled a team to take it on a spell-heavy way. As it was weak to electricity and curse and repelled bless damage, his team consisted of himself, Akechi and Ryuji, with Haru joining in enthusiastically for some physical strikes along the way.

The archangel was the toughest enemy they encountered until now, and even with the four of them it was a bit of a strain to take it down fast. Akechi set on an almost insane tempo and Ren, not shying away from the challenge, joined him in the mad exchange of blows and dodges, almost forgetting about everyone else in the process.

The fight felt like a gateway to his accumulated stress, each blow dealt to the Shadow taking away more and more of it until there was only peace of mind and physical exhaustion left. He wondered briefly if that’s how Akechi felt all the time, if that’s why he was so relentless and ready for a fight anytime. 

Certainly, letting out the emotions in this way was… if not impossible, at least _problematic_ in the real world. He realized, maybe that’s part of the greater reason as of why he himself missed being a Phantom Thief so much, too.

When they finally got to climb up the spiral staircase, Ren fully wished someone would carry him like Makoto carried Haru on her back all the way up. 

His gaze landed on Akechi, accidentally. 

The detective raised his eyebrow as if in a challenge. 

Ren forced his legs to work faster and he half-run upstairs, ahead of everyone else. He thought he heard Morgana’s surprised comment on his “endless stamina”.

The second item was a fashion magazine titled “Un-Un”, with Alice’s innocently smiling face on the cover. It was a bit worn-out, with the slightly bent pages and their corners messy, like it was read too many times, over and over again.

“I recognize it,” Ann said quietly as she walked up to Ren and gestured for him to hand it over to her. She flipped a few pages.

“I do, too!” Haru exclaimed in surprise. “It’s very popular, isn’t it? Making it to the front cover… Alice really must be popular!”

“She was. She is.” Ann rolled the magazine and clenched her fingers around it like it was a baton. “Even without all of this manipulation.” She smacked the rolled magazine against her other, open palm.

“It is indeed the proof of her power, then.” Yusuke nodded to himself. “The power that comes from fame and recognition in the media.”

“It looks worn-out,” Haru quietly voiced Ren’s earlier thoughts, and brushed delicately against the colorful cover in Ann’s hands. “Do you think it’s Alice’s treasured possession?”

It was yet another way to look at it. Ann unrolled the magazine and smoothed the now slightly bent cover. Everyone regarded it in silence.

* * *

They changed the order of teams again to get to the last source, and seeing how everyone seemed to be okay with it made Ren feel like he got some of the leader inside him back. Akechi would probably laugh or roll eyes at him if he told him about it, but it looked like everything came down to the feeling of the team's wishes being united, in the end.

He still felt something was off about Makoto but she proved to be able to overcome it for now, and it had to be enough.

The route to the last tower led through Central Street to the Bunka Machi. Ren wasn’t sure if it was the merit of being familiar with the area or it was just closer to the tower they started from, but getting to the last one took them considerably less time. It involved another round of Futaba’s hacking and them splitting up to run around and pull some levers down, but they made it to the huge Ferris Wheel under an hour.

According to Futaba and Sophia, sliding across the… something dangerously resembling high voltage lines (“The power is off, it’s safe!” they said.) from the center of the Wheel to the last tower was the best way to get there. Ren thanked gods, if they existed, for whatever it was with the Metaverse that made him fearless in situations like this. He wasn’t so sure if he would ever do it in the real world.

The third item was a CD titled ‘Macaron Cannon’, with a cute cover design. Until now Ren didn’t even know Alice released a single on top of being the clothes designer, but the wide range of business idols covered probably shouldn’t have been too surprising. 

When it turned out even Haru knew about it, he resigned himself to staying the not-trendy-at-all guy forever and decided on not feeling ashamed of it.

“It plays in a lot of commercials recently, doesn’t it?” the Beauty Thief asked Ann and Ren felt somewhat absolved. He hasn't watched TV much since he came back from Tokyo.

“Yes,” Ann confirmed with a small sigh, “it’s still on top of the sale rankings. Her hit song.”

“Another proof that she resolved to using this power… unnecessarily,” Morgana nodded to himself.

“What’s her real motivation, then? It isn’t… getting more recognition in the media, is it?” Makoto asked quietly. 

But, yet again, no one could really answer. They didn’t have enough knowledge about Alice, only a few leads.

“I feel like we should be able to guess by now,” Ren said, wishing the pressure of these words said out loud would bring him some sort of enlightenment. 

It didn’t, only adding to the guilty buzz inside of his head. He looked in Akechi’s direction helplessly.

The detective sighed. “Anything we could come up with now would still be only theories. If it’s really bothering you, I think we should leave for today and do some more investigating. I have a few ideas. But would it change anything?” He looked up at Ren and held his gaze for a few seconds, then glanced around at the others. “No matter Alice’s past, the fact still stands. She is using the Metaverse to satisfy her own selfish needs. Did your resolve to stop her falter?”

Ren shook his head. Akechi was right, as usual. Even if Alice’s original motivation was more pure, which he… doubted, honestly, since the distortion probably kept growing inside her for a longer time, it was too late to do something about it already. There was only one thing they could do for her now and it was to stop her from hurting others and herself.

“It was the last item, wasn’t it?” Makoto spoke up quietly, probably judging from his unconsciously straightened posture that he made the decision.

“That’s right!” Sophia jumped up and down. “All of the power sources are off now.”

“We should be able to proceed without problems… at least problems related to the searchlights.” Futaba walked up to him and hooked her arm with his. “There is no other active power source around to keep them turned on.”

“Good job leading us to this point, Oracle,” Ren smiled and ruffled her hair a bit, “we will be counting on you to get us back to the main gate.”

“Time to infiltrate Alice’s fortress!” Morgana exclaimed.

It seemed like they had to do one last push.

* * *

Back at the Scramble, they decided to carefully progress as one big group this time. It felt like it made everyone more lively, reminding them of the old times. 

Well, almost everyone. 

Akechi lagged in the back, habitually, and Ren was about to tell Mona to take lead, and walk up to him, when the sudden light from above blinded him. And not only him, judging from surprised yelps and sounds of bodies colliding.

“What’s going—” Ann started, but the loud alarm siren cut her off.

The wall of black metal emerged suddenly a few hundred meters in front of them, lit up by red emergency lamps. Another set of searchlights turned towards them and the army of Shadows materialized before the wall-gate out of nowhere.

“The road got blocked?!” Futaba cried out and Ren felt her catching his arm. “Not good!”

“And all these Shadows!” Makoto’s voice was pure concern.

“Don’t chatter now, run!” Akechi’s voice interrupted them like a slap in the face. 

They were still standing in the middle of the spotlight.

“Let’s go!” Ren called out and turned around, dragging Futaba with him.

They made it to one of the closest roadside alleyways and stopped there, panting from the sudden sprint and surge of adrenaline.

“A-are they chasing us?” Ren asked, looking up at whoever was closest to the alley’s outlet.

“Nah, doesn’t seem like it,” Ryuji answered and the Thieves sighed with relief. “But man, what the heck was that?”

“We turned off the searchlights! How is this possible…” Ann shook her head and slumped in defeat.

Ren tried his hardest not to think about how all the careful planning went to hell in literally one second. Where did they make a mistake?

“There’s nothing to be done about it,” Akechi’s voice was sharp as ever when he spoke up. “These places are like this.”

“We didn’t waste our time,” Yusuke supported firmly, making Ren look up at him with surprise. “We got the three items that were the power sources… It probably just means there is something else left for us to do here.”

“I think we should retreat for today,” Makoto said softly. “If we come back there, there is a chance we will only get surrounded.”

“We’ve been here for a few hours now,” Haru added, adjusting her hat. “There is only so much spells and items can do.”

“Let’s go back for today and think of what to do next with fresh minds,” Morgana supported.

What could he do against this unanimous decision? 

Nothing much.

And he felt pretty done with all of it for today, too. The full night’s sleep was probably what they needed the most now. For Ren… after making all of the calls and sending the texts he nearly forgot about by now.

He resisted the urge to sigh heavily at the thought. “Good job, everyone. Let’s do just that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys, I... I underestimated the uni. And my abilities to power through with so much planned. Alas, don't expect the TRS update next week! In two weeks, I will try to post one, but I'm not promising anything TwT 
> 
> Instead, if you are interested, from 25th to 31st October I will be posting a vampire AU shuake fic, with updates everyday.   
> On 31st I will most probably be posting one more work too, a mysterious Halloween exchange one-shot.
> 
> I'm sorry to make you wait TwT 
> 
> Next time: (finally!!!) a mysterious new character appears!! His face alone makes Akechi want to punch him!!   
> (I should stop goofing around but it's hard, I'm sorry, you all make me so happy I go stupid sjdhgsk)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you, everyone who got to the end of this chapter!
> 
> You are more than welcome to point out any mistakes you found - it will help me improve my work! I'm also open - and excited - to hear your thoughts on anything about it.
> 
> I will edit the tags as the story progresses to not spoil much of the fun things to come, but I promise you it shouldn't contain any Canon non-typical violence or triggers. You must be aware, though, that P5S sheds light on matters like bullying and murder.
> 
> Also, you can find me on:
> 
> Twitter: https://twitter.com/Mara_dine  
> Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/mara-dine


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